Changing Seasons
by cmoreno100
Summary: After the events of X2, Bobby Drake tries to cope with the changes in his life, from the very serious to the very funny, with some action put in for good measure. Appearance by DC's Jack Knight.
1. Bobby Drake

Changing Seasons (X-men Movieverse) By: cmoreno100 Chapter 1: Bobby Drake

PG-13. Drama.

Disclaimer: Iceman, and all other X-Men are property of Marvel Comics. I'm using him in this story without permission, and I am receiving no money for it.

Bobby Drake, code name Iceman, was alone. He walked through a dark warehouse, looking around and trying to stay sharp. He could see a door in front of him. Slowly, he opened the door and walked inside. It was very dark, but it seemed to be a large room, with mountains of wooden crates everywhere. He heard a noise, and instinctively built an ice shield in the direction of the sound. A second later, a bullet hit the ice shield, but the shield stayed intact. He was under attack. He could not see how many he was up against, but it did not matter. More bullets flew at him, but he was able to deflect them. Then, he saw the soldiers moving from behind some of the wooden crates, guns in hand. The room lit up with lasers, and the sound of gunfire invaded Iceman's ears. Quickly, Iceman ran behind some crates, and started shooting ice spikes at some of the soldiers. However, he heard the soldiers getting closer, and for a second, had a flashback; he was running with Pyro and Rogue, looking for a way out, when some of Stryker's soldiers broke in through the hallway window. He shook the memory away, just in time to see a soldier in front of him. Iceman's ice shield stopped the bullets, but then he felt a stinging pain in his back.

"Arghh…that hurt!"

Suddenly, the lights in the room came on, but it was not a warehouse anymore. Iceman stood in a large metal room.

"That's the least of your worries, Iceman, because you're dead."

Cyclops's voice said over the Danger room intercom. The danger room could project holographic images of a number of battle situations as well as fire energy beams that looked like bullets and stung like hell if they found their target. The whole thing was programmed in the control room, where Cyclops and the Professor were currently monitoring Bobby's exercise.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Summers. I mean, Cyclops...Scott." Bobby said, unsure of how to address him anymore.

In the control room, Cyclops sighed.

"He's not ready." Ever since Jean's death, Scott was being much more stringent in these Danger room exercises.

"I think he is, Scott, he just needs more practice."

"Maybe. But he's still being too defensive, he needs to use his power in a more offensive way."

"Agreed. Give him time, he'll get there."

Cyclops talked into the microphone again. "That's it for today, Bobby. You can go."

As he was heading out of the Danger Room, Bobby was stopped by Rogue.

"How was it?" she asked

Bobby sighed, "Well, I lasted longer this time."

"It's ok, Bobby, we'll get better with experience. Here, this came for you on the mail." Rogue handed a letter to Bobby.

"Steve?" Bobby said.

Steve had been Bobby's friend since he could remember. They grew up in the same street and went to the same schools, until Steve's Dad moved the family to New York City when they were in 10th grade. Soon after that, Bobby himself had transferred to Xavier's school. The boys kept in contact sparingly, each adjusting to their own new circumstances.

"It's been a while since I've heard from him. I hope nothing's wrong."

---------

The next day, Bobby was driving Scott's car. It was a hot, but beautiful, summer day. He still could not believe that Scott had loaned him his vehicle to go visit Steve. Of course, Scott spent an hour lecturing him about responsibility and maturity. In reality, Bobby knew that the Professor had to convince Scott about the car.

Unfortunately, it was not strictly a pleasure trip. In his letter, Steve indicated that his Dad had an accident and passed away. Steve wrote to Bobby asking if he could come visit for a weekend. Bobby could read between the lines; he was having a hard time and needed a friend. During the years, they had their ups and downs, but always when they were in trouble, the other was there to help.

Bobby looked at the printed map and the written descriptions.

"This is it." He said, and got out of the car. As he walked towards the house, Steve opened the door.

"Hey, man. Glad you could make it."

"Glad to be here." Bobby said

The two friends talked for a while, mostly reminiscing about old times. Bobby felt uncomfortable touching the subject of Steve's Dad, so he didn't.

After dinner, they sat on the balcony looking at the stars. Bobby breathed in hard.

"How are you holding up, Steve?" he asked. The other boy knew what the question was referring to.

"Not too good, Bobby...It was just so sudden, you know? You never expect something like that to happen. And even if you did, you cannot prepare for it."

"And your mom...?"

"She's holding up. I think that if it wasn't for her friends in church..." Steve trailed off into thought.

"Bobby, thanks for coming. I'm sorry to make you drive all the way over here, it's just that I don't really have anybody to talk to here, and my sisters are dealing with it in their own way. I don't know, you always were there to help me when we were growing up, so..."

"It's ok, Steve. It's no problem. That's what friends are for, right?"

Steve smiled. They spent the rest of the night mostly looking out into the summer night sky.

--------------------

The next morning was very hot. Fortunately for Bobby, his powers enable him to lower his external temperature and the air around him. Steve wondered for a second why the heat seemed more tolerable when Bobby was in the room. They had breakfast with Steve's mom and his sisters, and afterwards decided to cruise in the car for a while.

"Wow! This is a cool car! Whose is it?"

"Err...one of our instructors."

"And he loaned it to you? Man, are they receiving new students in that school of yours?"

""Yes, but you could not get in even if you wanted to."" Bobby thought

They were driving around the streets of New York City when they passed a wall painted with graffiti. In big red letters it said : "Die mutants, die!"

Bobby pretended not to see it, but noticed that Steve stared at it until it was out of sight. Bobby wondered what was going through Steve's mind. Finally, Steve turned towards Bobby.

"You know how my father died, Bobby?"

Silence filled the car. Bobby swallowed and waited.

"My Dad was working as a security guard. It was the only thing he could get when we moved here. His job was taking care of a big lady. The one standing in the harbor over there."

Bobby did not understand, until he realized that he was referring to the Statue of Liberty.

"One night, he and the other guards were attacked...by what we were told were mutants bent on world domination. I insisted on seeing the body, even though the policemen objected. My mom said I was big enough to decide if I wanted to or not...I still don't know if I made the right decision..."

Steve stopped, gasping for air as tears started rolling down his face.

"It was as if a giant weight had...landed on top of him, and ...flattened him. The bones were shattered...He was laying there...barely resembling a human being..."

Bobby stopped the car. He didn't know what to do. Steve was crying with eyes lost in the horizon. Bobby put his hand on Steve's shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze.

"I'm sorry." Bobby said

"What did he do to deserve dying like that? All he wanted was to feed his family...it's just so unfair."

Bobby's eyes were now full with moisture, which slowly built up as frost that he pushed away with one finger.

"Nobody deserves to die like that, Steve. I'm really sorry. But you should remember your Dad for what he was when he was alive. That is the memory that you need to keep."

Steve looked at Bobby.

"Yes...you're right."

They sat in silence for a while. Bobby waited until Steve had regained control of himself.

"Remember how he used to play catch with us in the street?"

Steve smiled.

"And when he broke the window of your Dad's car?" Steve said.

The boys laughed.

"He never could throw very well, could he?"

"I suppose not. I remember when those Thompson kids were picking on us, he took us out to the back yard and told us to stand our ground. He said that bullies can smell fear, and they prey on it. The next day, we stood up, and pushed them back. Remember their surprised faces? They taunted us, but we just stood there, unflinching. Remember? The fear had gone away..."

"Fear" Bobby said absent-mindedly. He did not think that Steve had heard him, but he did.

"Yes. Fear. That's what I felt the most after it happened. Fear for the future, for how we were going to cope without him..." Steve went away into his personal thoughts.

Bobby found himself in the same situation. Fear had been consuming him. Ever since the professor had suggested that he was ready to join the X-men if he wanted. Rogue had been so excited, but not him. He still woke up from time to time with the same horrible nightmare. He saw himself that day when Stryker had attacked the mansion. He was in the kitchen when the gunman walked in and started shooting. He had ducked behind the counter, and the deafening sound of bullets filled his ears. Looking down, he noticed a liquid flowing next to his feet, a red liquid. Looking at his chest, he could see where the bullets had pierced into his skin. And then he woke.

It was not just fear of being killed that haunted him. It was also the fear that he was not good enough. The rest of the X-men had incredible powers, they were brave and fearless. What could he do? Make the air really cold? He kept wondering why the Professor had selected him. He knew the answer: "potential" they would always say, but he did not believe it deep inside himself.

Pushing out of his own thoughts, he realized that Steve had stepped out of the car. He followed him to the side of the vehicle.

"Steve, are you ok?"

"Yeah. I'm ok. Thanks for listening. Just being able to talk to somebody has made me feel like a big weight has been lifted."

Bobby fumbled with his feet and placed one hand behind his neck.

"Do you hate them?" he asked

"Who?"

"Mutants..."

Steve was silent for a while. Bobby's heart sank to his stomach. He could not help but feel guilty, although not exactly sure why. A mutant had killed Steve's father. And here he was, a mutant himself. He wondered if Steve would reject him if he found out that Bobby was a mutant. Reject him just like his family did. He certainly had reason to. Bobby silently pleaded to God that that wasn't the case. He couldn't stand the thought of losing another friend, not after the way he had lost his family, and John, his friend from Xavier's that joined Magneto.

"I can't." Steve said suddenly

"Huh?"

"I can't hate mutants. I can't blame a whole group of people for what was the work of only one of them."

"A brotherhood of them..." Bobby mumbled

"Huh?"

"err...that's what I have heard them called, the mutants responsible for Ellis Island."

"oh."

"I thought you would have hated all mutants..."

"I'm a history buff, Bobby. I know what hate brings. I can't let it consume me. I know that's what Dad would have wanted." He paused. "Although I hate the mutants that did it, of course. If I could have them face to face...I would make them pay. Although I doubt that I would last two seconds!" He said with a faint smile.

""I wonder if I would either..."" thought Bobby

After a while, they got back in the car and headed home. All the time Bobby was debating whether to tell Steve that he was a mutant or not. If any non-mutant would understand, it would be him, right? They grew up together. They always helped each other. And now Bobby needed help and advice. Because he was not sure if he wanted to be an X-men. And if he did, he was not sure he had what it takes anyway.


	2. Decisions

Disclaimer: Iceman, and all other X-Men are property of Marvel Comics. I'm using him in this story without permission, and I am receiving no money for it.

Chapter 2: Decisions

----------------

"Steve, can I talk to you?" Bobby said, walking into the other boy's room

Steve smiled.

"My sister still has a crush on you. Did you see how she was looking at you during dinner?"

Bobby blushed

"I already have a girlfriend."

"Ohhh, come on, details!"

""She's a mutant, and if she touches you, she absorbs your energy, and can eventually kill you!"" Bobby wondered what Steve would do if he could read minds like the Professor.

"Come, on, Bobby, what are you smirking about? Details! I told you about my girlfriend."

Bobby hesitated for a second.

"Well, Marie..."

"Marie...nice name."

"Yeah, well...she is a special girl. In fact, all the kids in my school are special..."Bobby decided ""what the heck, the Professor is probably going to erase this from Steve's mind anyway when he finds out"" so he continued "You see, we are all mutants."

Bobby could see Steve's mouth drop.

"Sorry, there's just no introduction to that one, is there?" Bobby smiled. Steve was silent for a while.

"Why...why didn't you tell me, Bobby?"

"I was afraid you would freak out, man" Bobby's head dropped down and his eyes stared at the floor. "just like my parents."

"What about your parents?"

"...they have cut me off completely. My own brother even called the cops on me." Bobby turned sideways a little to hide his moist eyes. "I guess we have both lost a parent, two in my case, huh?" Steve looked at Bobby, and then, suddenly, he put his hand in Bobby's shoulder and squeezed.

"It's ok, Bobby. I'm not going anywhere."

Bobby could not hide it any longer, as the tears ran down his face. 

----------------------

"Tell me about the plane again!"

"Again?" Bobby was sitting down in a chair while Steve sat on his bed. 

Steve smiled. "Man, everything sound so cool!"

"I don't know, it's not so cool when you can get killed in one of those missions."

"True. But if this guy, the Professor, is as intelligent as you say, and he tells you that you are ready, then he's probably right. From what you tell me, I'm sure he would not put you in danger if he thought you couldn't handle it."

"I guess." Bobby said. 

"Hold on a sec!" Steve stood up and walked out. He returned with a glass of water.

"Do that thing again, Bobby!"

"Oh come on!"

Steve gave him a funny look. Bobby extended his hand and touched the glass with one finger. The liquid immediately turned to ice.

"That's excellent!"

"Yeah, but how is that going to help me in a battle?"

"I don't know, you can freeze a guy's blood or something. Or encase them in a block of ice. I think you could kick some butt!"

"You think?"

"Bobby, you have been blessed with an extraordinary gift. I myself think everything happens for a reason. Perhaps you were meant to be part of these X-people."

"But I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask to be able to freeze stuff and have to battle maniacal mutants bent on world domination. If they had asked me, I would have wanted just to be normal."

"Bobby, what is normal anyway? We're all different. You can freeze stuff, but you still can't shoot a basketball like me!"

"Hey, I want a rematch tomorrow!" Bobby teased.

"Every person is different. Every person has different gifts, different things they are capable of doing."

"Potential..."

"Exactly. But if we do not decide to do something with that potential, it just gets wasted. And that's the worst thing one can do." Steve stood up

"I would kill to have the ability that you have...I would hunt those bastards that killed my Dad and freeze them until the next Ice Age."

"No you wouldn't."

Steve's face got serious. He squatted next to Bobby's chair.

"Bobby, listen to me. You and your friends have those powers...you can catch those guys, stop them before they do to anybody else what they did to my father."

Bobby stood up.

"No, Steve, I'm just a kid. I can't assume that much responsibility...I..."

"You're still the same Bobby...I remember how you could never hit a home run in little league. You kept saying that you couldn't do it...You remember how we practiced and practiced? And that first time you hit one out of the park...remember what I told you? I said "I told you so.""

"I'm sorry, Steve, but this is not little league." Bobby walked out of the room.

------------------------------------

The next day was Sunday, and Bobby and the family went to church. Afterwards, they went with a group to visit some poor neighborhoods. Steve and Bobby had been silent during the whole morning. When they reached their destination, Bobby saw that they were in an area of old houses. It looked like mostly old folks lived here. 

"What are we gonna do, Mrs. Smith?" Bobby asked Steve's mother.

"We're going to distribute fans to some of these folks, Bobby. The heat wave caught these folks by surprise. Some of them do not have money to buy an air conditioner. Others can't afford the electric bill, so they keep it off."

Bobby looked at Steve, who was looking out the window. He noticed Bobby's look.

When everybody stepped out, Bobby and Steve walked away to talk alone.

"I know what you are thinking, and no, I did not plan this. I didn't even know we were coming here."

"You know I can't do anything, Steve. The Professor strictly prohibits us from using our powers in the open."

"I haven't said anything Bobby. I haven't asked you to do anything. I wouldn't want to add to your overwhelming responsibilities."

Bobby turned and started to walk away.

"Bobby. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It's not fair for me to expect you to do something that you don't want. Who knows? If I was in your same situation, I'd probably do the same. I mean, we're in high school, for God's sake. We shouldn't have to think about going on "missions" and hoping that we don't get killed."

Bobby turned to look at Steve. But then something caught his eye. From one of the old houses, screams could be heard, and a woman ran out with her hands in the air.

"Please, somebody get a doctor! Mr. Brown is unconscious! It think it's heat stress!"

"Oh my God!" they heard Mrs. Smith say. "At that age, heat stress like that can be fatal! Steve, quick, go in the car with Bobby to the 7-11 and get some ice!"

Steve and Bobby looked at each other; no words were needed.

"We may not need to, mom."

The two boys ran towards the old house. Inside, they found an old man on the floor. A tall man was in front of him, fanning with a newspaper.

"He's having heat stroke! Go get help!" the man screamed at the boys. The old man's skin looked red and flushed. His pupils were constricted and he did not appear to be breathing, or sweating.

Bobby quickly put his hand on the old man's forehead. Within seconds, the skin turned clammy and pale, then back to its normal color. Suddenly, the old man started breathing somewhat normal again. 

"His temperature is back to normal, but you should still take him to the hospital to make sure he's ok." Bobby said, not really talking to anybody in particular, and oblivious to the other people that had gathered and now stood dumbfounded at the sudden recovery of the old man. Steve quickly reacted and dialed 911 on his cell phone. 

------------------------

After the commotion had stopped and the ambulance had taken Mr. Brown away, Bobby was sitting alone on the porch of the old house looking at the floor. Steve walked towards him and sat down next to Bobby.

"I told you so."  He said. Bobby smiled but did not look up. "You ok?"

"Yeah."

"That was a great thing you did, Bobby. You saved that man's life."

Bobby just stared at his hand. 

"You know, Steve, I have been thinking a lot lately. I think I have concluded something. Somebody once told me that everything happens for a reason." He looked at Steve and they both smiled. "I don't know why I was given the ability I have. But after saving that man's life, I finally know what I should do. I may not be able to do much with my powers, but if I can save other lives like Mr. Brown's, then I will certainly try my best. After all, the worst thing we can do with God's gifts is let them go to waste."

Steve put his hand around Bobby's neck, pushing his head down and playfully scratching his head.

"Well, said, Drake. I wonder where you heard that!"

-----------------------

Bobby was back in his room at the Mansion. The weekend had certainly gone by quickly. Scott gave him a thumbs up after a 30 minute examination of the car. Rogue had given him a hug and an "I missed you". Now he stood in front of his closet. He opened the closet door and stared at it. He had not dared to take it out from where he had placed it after Scott gave it to him. Now he did. Carefully, he placed the uniform in his bed. He was supposed to only try it on for size, so a fitted one could be made. He undressed and put on the black leather outfit. He turned and looked at himself in the mirror, and smiled. Suddenly he was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Bobby." said the Professor.

Bobby walked to the door and opened it. The Professor saw Bobby in his uniform and smiled. He wheeled inside and closed the door.

"It looks like it fits fine."

"Well, maybe a little looser around the chest. I can hardly move!"

"Very well, I'll tell Ororo. How are you feeling, Bobby?"

"Good. Thanks for letting me go visit my friend, Professor."

"I knew that you were having difficulties with all this. Going away to think was the best course of action." 

"Prof...you really think I have what it takes?"

"Bobby, you have all you need right here." The professor touched the area over Bobby's heart with his hand. Bobby smiled.

"Thanks."

"You are most welcome. I came to see if you would be joining us later tonight in the Danger room."

"You can count on it."

"Very well." The Professor started to head for the door. "And I will not be erasing anything from your friend's head, Bobby." 

"Thanks, sir."

"Oh, one more thing." The Professor stopped. "Good work, Robert." He said, smiling knowingly. Bobby smiled back.

Bobby opened the door for the Professor and then locked it. Looking at himself again in the mirror, he flexed his muscles with some difficulty.

"Iceman". He said. 

Then he stood still and looked into his face.

"Robert Drake."


	3. A Visit to Westchester

Chapter 3: A Visit to Westchester 

Humor. PG. 

Disclaimer: All X-men characters property of Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. Superfriends are property of somebody that's not me.

Movie vs. comics: In the comics, Bobby is portrayed as a joker when he was young.  I've tried to balance the comics Bobby with the movie Bobby. 

"Hey, Bobby!, how  you doin'?"

"Hi, Steve."

--------------

Three hours later, a knock was heard on the door.

"Robert Drake! Everybody else needs to use the phone too!" Kitty screamed

"Yo, who's that?" asked Steve

"That's Kitty." Bobby said, then turned to shout towards her "I'll be done in a minute!"

"That's what you said an hour ago!"

Kitty's power enables her to walk thru walls. Her right arm crossed the closed door up to her elbow, and the half arm sticking out of the door showed Bobby one manicured finger, the middle one.

"Kitty! Such a rude gesture for a nice young girl like you to make!"

"Shut up, Drake!" she shouted, and the arm disappeared back to the other side of the door.

"Man, she's pissed." Laughed Bobby

"You're in trouble now, bro." Steve was not Bobby's brother, but they acted like if they were. Back in their old neighborhood, their houses were right across from each other.

"So, you're going to San Francisco in a few days?"

"Yeah. Finally goin' out to college. My mom has a cousin that lives in San Francisco. I'm going to stay with her and work at her husband's store."

"What kind of store?"

"Umm…an art gallery."

"An art gallery!? What do you know about art?"

"I'm not going to be giving art reviews or anything, just doing stuff around the store that's all."

"We won't be able to talk so much anymore, or hang out once in a while for that matter."

"I know."

Silence

"Hey! How about I come to your school next weekend?"

"I don't know, Steve, this isn't exactly your average boarding school, you know."

"Come on, Drake. Are you worried I'm gonna freak out when I see a weird looking mutant or something?"

"Well, no. But I don't think the Professor would allow it."

"Why not? No humans allowed in school grounds or something?"

"Well, you bring up a good point. I'll talk to him and see."

"Cool. Oops, no pun intended."

"Haha."

"Hey, what are you watching now?"

"Cartoon Network."

Steve snorted. "When are you going to grow up, Drake?"

"Eventually. Guess what's coming up?"

"How would I know, I'm not psychic. Or mutant."

"No, you're more of an abomination…."

"Just tell me what the hell is on."

"Superfriends"

"Who?"

"Superfriends! Remember we used to watch it every afternoon after school when we were little?"

"Oh! Yeah. That's the one with the stupid twins that turned into silly stuff."

"The wondertwins."

"I can't believe you still know what their names are…"

"How can I forget? We used to roll on the floor laughing every time the guy turned into a bucket of water. A bucket of water! What the hell is that good for?"

Steve burst into laughter on the other end

"I remember the girl could turn into animals, right? And we always thought: "Why doesn't she turn into a lion or a tiger?" Always turning into a bird or something like that…."

"And remember the stupid monkey?" they were both now laughing uncontrollably. "Those have got to be the lamest superheroes ever!"

"And then came Iceman…" said Steve

"Ha. So not funny."  
"Hey! Come to think of it, you are like that guy, huh? Ice, water, same thing!" Steve was now laughing so hard that he almost couldn't talk. "By the way, Iceman?… that is sooo original. You had to think _real_ hard about that one."

"Funny. So…what about you? Are you the monkey then, or the animal girl?"

Silence

"Ok, you got me."

"Hey! That gives me a great idea for a prank when you come to visit! I mean, if the Professor lets you."

"You still being the class clown?"

"Well, not really, too much on my mind...with the ice thing and all."

"I remember when we were growing up, you were always getting in trouble in school for pranks and stuff like that." 

"Nah, the Prof is not like that."

"All right. So tell me, what's your idea?"

---------

The professor gave the green light and Steve was going to visit Westchester for the weekend before heading out to San Francisco. To say that he was nervous was an understatement. It was not every day that you get to visit with a team of superheroes. As the gates to the school opened, he half expected a sign over the mansion to say "Hall of Justice" or something. 

When Steve walked toward the entrance, a man with strange sunglasses stopped him. 

"Can I help you?"

"Yeah, I'm looking for Robert Drake." 

Just then, Bobby walked out of the mansion. 

"Steve! How was the trip?"

"Good."

Scott gave Bobby a quizzical look. 

"Oh, Scott. This is my friend, Steve."

Scott shook the young man's hand.

"Nice to meet you."

"Same here."

Steve frowned at Bobby, waiting for the "introduction". Bobby gulped.

"Scott, Steve here is also a mutant. I asked the Professor to invite him over, see if he wants to stay."

Scott looked at Steve. 

"So, what's your gift?"

"Steve is a little shy about his gift, Scott."

"Yeah, it's just I don't have full control over them. Right now I can only do two or three fairly common and harmless things."

Scott looked intrigued. "There's no need to be shy. We are all here learning how to develop our gifts."

"Ok…well, you see, I can turn into animals."

Bobby had to bit his lip to prevent a chuckle from escaping his mouth. Incredibly, Steve kept a straight face.

"Really?"

"Yeah, like Mystique, except only animals." Bobby said when he saw Scott wasn't buying it initially.

"Why animals and not humans?"

" I don't know, maybe humans are more complicated genetically, you know."

Bobby stepped in front of Scott.

"Who understands why these powers are what they are, huh Scott?"

Scott examined the young man again. "Perhaps we can run some tests on him and see if he can figure out why."

Bobby smiled at the thought.

"Yeah, that's definitively a good idea, Scott."

"Well, welcome to Xavier's, Steve."

"Thanks, sir."

The two boys walked into the mansion, still amazed that they were actually pulling this off. 

That night was uneventful, with Steve and Bobby joking around with Rogue, Kitty, Jubilee and some of the other kids. When they were heading to bed, they saw the Professor sitting alone reading a book.

"Oh Sh…" Bobby whispered to Steve "that's one guy we won't fool! Let's hope he doesn't see us!"

"Bobby! You haven't introduced your friend." Said the Professor and turned towards them

(Busted) Bobby thought as they headed towards him.

"Hello sir, I'm Steve."

"Nice to meet you, Steve."

"Thanks for letting me crash here for a couple of days."

"You are welcome. I'll be frank, I didn't really warm up to the idea until Bobby mentioned how our goal is to have a peaceful understanding between man and mutant.

There is no reason why somebody like you shouldn't be allowed to visit."

"Right, because he's not a mutant."Bobby said without knowing why. 

The professor looked at Bobby and raised one eyebrow. "Right."

Bobby was just nervous that the Professor would be mad if he found out their prank. 

"Oh, look at the time!" Steve said suddenly. "I'm so tired from the trip. I need some serious rest. Come on Bobby!" he grabbed Bobby's arm and the two headed upstairs to Bobby's room. 

The boys waited until the Professor moved to the lower levels, like he usually did. 

"Are you sure about this?"

"Hey, if there's something this house needs right now is some laughs."

"If you say so, you know them."

And so they proceeded to release the gray cat that Bobby had obtained from the pet shop the day before…

"What the hell!" Logan said when he saw a cat walking around the mansion.

Just then, Bobby ran down the stairs.

"Logan, wait! That's my friend Steve!"

"Huh?"

"He was trying out his powers and turned into a cat, but I think he was too tired from the trip…I think he's having trouble turning back to human form!"

Logan tried to catch the feline, but it jumped and escaped his hands.

"I hate cats." He said.

"Don't let him go! If the Dobermans catch him he's history!"

Pretty soon half the school was running around trying to catch the gray cat. Finally, Nightcrawler teleported right in front of the animal. 

"I got you." He said in a German accent. 

"Here, let me have him." Bobby said, taking the cat and walking upstairs. "I'll hold him in my room until he can change back." He said, trying his hardest not to laugh. Upstairs, Steve was hiding behind some columns, with a video camera in his hand.

The next day was rather uneventful. Some people asked Steve about the night before and he apologized profusely. The kids had a softball match outside and had a lot of fun, until Colossus batted the ball so hard that it must have landed in the next county.

During the afternoon, everything was quiet. Then suddenly, Steve shouted, "Help!" from inside Bobby's room. Several kids ran to where the scream came from.

"What's going on?" asked one of the kids

"It's Bobby! I…Oh man!…"

Scott came into the room, followed by Logan.

"What's happening?" He saw Steve holding his hands up in the air, and a big puddle of water in the middle of Bobby's room.

"Mr. Summers! I'm sorry! I was joking around with Bobby and made a bet that he couldn't turn himself into water. Well he did, but now I think he can't re-form!"

"What the hell is wrong with you two!" shouted Logan.

"Bobby!" screamed Rogue, walking towards the puddle.

"Watch out! Don't step on him! Ororo, go get something to pick him up…" said Scott

"Like what!?"

"I don't know, a sponge or something…" 

Steve dropped to the floor making loud sounds. Everybody thought he was crying, but in reality he was laughing his *** off.

"Oh!" he said with difficulty. "I guess we'll have to call him SpongeBobby!"

At that, a loud laughter was heard from the closet. Logan opened the closet door and Bobby fell on the floor, his face red with laughter.

"Bobby! That was so sick!" Rogue shouted.

Then, the gray cat walked out of the closet.

"What the…!" Scott said, looking at Steve

The gray cat walked by Logan's leg, raised his tail, and peed on Logan's bare foot. He growled and walked out, muttering under his breath "I hate cats."

"We'll get you for this, Drake!" shouted Jubilee, but Bobby was laughing too much to hear.

-----------------

"So, what happened with the cat?" Steve asked Bobby, as he was getting ready to leave.

"Believe it or not, the Professor decided to keep it for himself. He said "I think the cat would be in better hands with me, Mr. Drake.""

"Are you sure you're not in too much trouble?"

"Nah."

"And that guy, the one with the claws."

"He'll get over it." Bobby laughed.

"Ok, man, I'm off."

The two friends shook hands.

"Maybe I'll come by to visit one day in San Francisco."

"Cool. No pun intended."

Next: The Coming of Winter. Five chapters of drama, action and suspense, with a sprinkle of humor and a topping of supernatural. Check it out! 


	4. City of Mist

Chapter Four: City of Mist 

PG-13. Drama/Suspense. 

Disclaimer: All X-men characters property of Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. Starman characters are property of DC Comics. Steve and Teresa are mine.

Movie vs. comics: In the comics, Hank (Beast) is one of Bobby's closest friends. I'm assuming here that Hank is now an X-men in the movieverse and that Bobby and him are good friends.

A few months later, Bobby was walking into Hank's lab expecting to find him working on his computer. Instead, the air inside was filled with sound, as Hank sat enjoying some classical music.

"What are you listening to?" asked Bobby, raising his voice so Hank could hear him.

"Oh, Bobby, hi!" said Hank, almost screaming "This is Bach. Air on a G-string."

Bobby smiled "Air on a G-string? I didn't know classical music could be erotic."

Hank frowned, and lowered the volume of the music.

"Well." Continued Bobby "at least it's not "hot air through the G-sting", huh?"

"Bobby, this is music for the soul, it helps me be at peace. You should try it sometime."

"Nah. I'll stick with mindless pop and angry rock."

Hank looked at Bobby and shook his head.

"What brings you here, Bobby?"

"Oh, I wanted to let you know that you won't have to help me with the biology project this week. I'm probably gonna go to San Francisco to visit my friend Steve, if he gets permission for me to camp out at his place."

"Really? And where did you get the funds for that?"

"I don't know, really." Bobby had been receiving money in envelopes for a while. He suspected that it was from his mother, but there was no return address.

"Fair enough. I like a good mystery. What about your biology project? When are you going to work on that?"

"Eh, I'll patch something together when I get back." 

"It's your grade…Is Rogue going with you?"  
Bobby lowered his head.

"No."

Hank examined the boy.

"Problems? You guys fighting or something?"

Bobby exhaled.

"Sort of. This new guy, Remy, was talking with Rogue and I saw them. It looked to me like he was flirting with her. Rogue told me later they were just talking. Anyway, I guess I got jealous and overreacted. Rogue called me immature, and it went downhill from there." Bobby paused to look around. "I guess this time apart from each other might be good for us to examine our feelings."

"Don't worry. If it's meant to be, it'll all work out in the end."

------

The trip was uneventful. When he arrived in San Francisco, Steve was waiting for him at the airport.  They headed home to where Steve was staying. It was an old house in the Hayes Valley area. The first floor was an art gallery, while the second and third floors were the living quarters.  They walked inside and headed upstairs. In the living area, a man and a woman were playing with two kids, a boy and a girl.

"Welcome, Bobby! I'm Sadie, Steve's mom is my cousin."

"Nice to meet you, ma'm."

"This is my husband, Jack."

The man stood up and shook Bobby's hand.

"Hello."

"Hi."

"Welcome to our humble abode, feel free to make yourself at home. But don't party with Steve until too late, he's got to open the store tomorrow." Jack said.

"No, sir, we won't"

Bobby learned that the art gallery downstairs was Jack's. Jack was a painter, and some of his works were downstairs. However, most works were by other artists. 

"This is my son Kyle, he's four. And the little one over there is our daughter Adele, she's two."

The four year old walked towards Bobby, and said "Hello" before running off to play again.

Sadie grabbed Adele in her arms.

"Let me show you to your room." She said.

After unpacking, the boys sat outside admiring the incredible view of the city. Winter was coming, and the air was chilly. They went out to drive around the city and visited a few clubs. They came back early because Steve had to work the next day.

In the morning, Bobby woke up and decided to go jogging. He had been jogging with Scott almost every day and his body was starting to show it. He jogged, admiring the Victorian houses, and the views of the Bay. A few times he had to ask for directions, but eventually made his way back. He walked into the store.

"Good morning, Mr. Knight."

"Good morning, Bobby. And call me Jack, please. Mr. Knight makes me sound so old."

"Ok, no problem. Is Steve in?"

"Yes, he's in the back." Jack looked at Bobby, who was wearing a short-sleeve t-shirt and short running pants. "Were you running outside? Err...stupid question. I mean, weren't you cold running outside like that?"    
"No, I don't usually get cold."

"You didn't break a sweat either."

"Yeah." Bobby laughed uncomfortably "I have a strange metabolism." Bobby hated to lie to Mr. Knight, but he had learned to keep his mutant status a secret. There were too many people out there that hated mutants. He was pretty sure that Mr. Knight was not one of them, but then again, you never know. 

Just then, a man walked into the store. Jack turned his attention at the newcomer, and as if sensing something wrong, walked towards him. Before he could reach him, the man took out a gun from his back.

"Don't move! Gimme all the money you got in the store and I won't kill you!"

As if by instinct, Jack dove towards the man, grabbing the gun and throwing it away. Before the assailant could react, Jack's fist hit him in the face. The man almost lost his balance, falling sideways. Then, Jack kicked his legs, and the man fell on the ground. Jack looked towards Bobby, who had his hands raised, and a look of hesitation in his face. Bobby had been ready to handle the man, but soon saw that Jack did not need any help.

"Are you okay, Jack?"

"Yeah. This is just a punk." Jack said, then turned back towards the man on the ground. "And who the hell robs an art store anyway?!"

From the corner of his eyes, Bobby saw some movement. A second man had entered the store, and was reaching for something behind his back. 

"Jack, look out!" Bobby was able to say, and at the same time, his hands fired ice towards the second assailant. Jack ducked; a chilling scream was heard, and then silence. When Jack stood up, he was staring at what looked like a mannequin. Instead, it was the newcomer, frozen solid, gun in hand. Jack looked at Bobby in amazement.

"Wow, I've never done that before…" was all Bobby said, more to himself than to Jack. Quickly noticing Jack's glare, he turned towards him.

"Umm…I think there's something I need to tell you."

"I think I can guess. Your mutation, right? Steve said you were a mutant, but he did not say what you could do."

"Steve told you?"

"Yeah" Jack said, moving towards the frozen man. "Is he going to be okay?"

"I guess, it looks like he's breathing."

"How do we….unfreeze him?"

"I don't know…move him close to the furnace?"

Jack chuckled. "Thanks for having my back, Bobby."

"No problem." Bobby replied, "So Steve told you I'm a mutant?"

"Yep. And speaking of which…"

Just then, Steve came running in with a broomstick in his hands.

"What's going on?! I heard a commotion! Are you guys…?"

He stopped when he saw the frozen man. "Man, I missed it."

Jack and Bobby laughed.

"No, dude, you got here for the best part. We get to figure out how to defrost this bozo." 

An hour later, after the commotion had subsided and the cops had taken the two assailants away, Bobby was helping Steve stash some boxes.

"So…Did Jack and Sadie have any problems when you told them I was a mutant?"

"Of course not. They go with me sometimes to the man-mutant association meetings."

"The what?"

"It's an association made up of humans and mutants that promotes a peaceful understanding between us."

"That's great. I didn't know there were such associations. The groups I've heard about are all mutant haters."

"There are some of those in this city too, unfortunately. One time they barged into one of our meetings and it got pretty ugly. We went to the cops, but most of the cops think of mutants as "bad news" so they didn't do shit."

Bobby felt proud of his best friend for standing up for mutant rights. He thought about telling him that, but felt awkward. 

"When's the next meeting of the group, Steve?"

"In fact, there's one tonight."

"I would like to go."

-----------

During the meeting, Bobby met several people, humans and mutants. It was a very friendly group, and the boys had fun. 

"Hey Bobby, check her out." Steve pointed towards a good-looking brunette. "I dated her for a while. She's a mutant, and her gifts…well let's just say that we spent a lot of time in bed."

"Man, you gotta tell me more!"

"Of course, I gotta make you mad with envy! Hey, how are things with Rogue?"

"Ehhh, more or less. It's ok, we'll work it out."

It was late, so they decided to head back. On the way out, they saw a paper taped to the wall. It was a flyer.

"What's this?"

"Oh, that's a place down in Chinatown, a mutant refuge. They provide food and shelter to mutants that have no place to go. It's mostly poor young runaways. The association gives them some money every year."

Bobby was silent for a second. He thought how his life would have been different if the Professor and Scott had not taken him to Westchester. He would probably have ended up like those kids, a runaway with no place to go. He remembered how Xavier always talked about helping others, and he wanted to do something.

"I want to visit this place, Steve."

"Ok, we can go tomorrow. What do you have in mind?"

"Maybe I can inspire them, tell them my story. How I'm now part of the X-men. Maybe it'll give them some hope."

---------

The next day, the friends headed to Chinatown. They found the Mutant safe house, an old two story building, and walked in. Inside, groups of young boys and girls sat around watching TV, playing cards, or just sitting. The air inside was heavy. The faces were pale, with sadness so penetrating that one had to look away before it engulfed you. Bobby's heart sank. He looked into their eyes, and saw despair beyond hope. 

"May I help you?" a white man in his 40's with a short mustache said.

"Umm…we're looking for the person in charge."

"That would be me. I'm Louis, but everybody calls me Lou." Said the man. He was smoking a cigar. "Are you looking for shelter, my friends?"

"No."

"Ok, why don't we step into my office?" Just then, a tall, muscular man walked by, eyeing Bobby and Steve. "It's ok, Big Joe." Said Lou, turning to the boys. "That is our security guard. With so many extremist groups that hate mutants, I found a need to have him around for protection. Mine and the poor kids that come here."

They walked to Lou's office and talked. He informed them that the shelter had been started a couple of years ago by him. The kids mostly came in and stayed a few nights, then left. While there, the staff tried to provide counseling and offer any help possible.

"Unfortunately, most of the ones that come here have gone through so much…so much pain and suffering. There's not much that we can do for them."

"That's why I came in, Lou. I would like to talk to the kids about my experience. You see, I'm a member now of a team of mutants that helps people and fights those who wage war against humans or mutants. I think maybe with my story, I can bring them a little bit of hope."

"Hmm, very interesting. It sounds good, but honestly I'm not sure what it would accomplish."

"I think it would be good." Said Steve "We can maybe do it as an event. The human-mutant association can sponsor it."

Lou smiled. "Ok, I'll think about it… Why don't you give me a call later and maybe we can try to schedule something?"

"Thanks, sir!"

Lou excused himself and left. The boys were heading out the door when they saw a young girl sitting by herself. She was about the same age as Bobby and Steve. 

"What's your name?" Bobby said, but the girl did not respond. She just sat there with a blank look. Bobby looked at Steve, but then the girl said:"Teresa ". 

"Hi, Teresa, I'm Bobby."

For a second, the girl's eyes turned towards Bobby. Suddenly, Bobby felt a cry in his head, a cry for help, weak, almost imperceptible. But just as fast as it had come, it left. The girl's eyes turned back towards the window. Bobby shook his head.

"You ok, Bobby?" said Steve

"I don't know, I thought…I think she was talking into my head."

From a corner, Lou watched as the two boys left.


	5. Baggage

Chapter Five: Baggage

PG-13. Drama/Suspense.

Disclaimer: All X-men characters property of Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. Starman characters are property of DC Comics. Steve and Teresa are mine.

Movie vs. comics: In the comics, Iceman is able to cover his body in a layer of ice. Later on, he is able to completely transform into ice. 

"I can't believe we're doing this." Steve whispered   
The boys were crouching around the back wall of the mutant safe house. It   
was dark and cold, and Steve was trying not to shiver, while Bobby looked   
comfortable.   
"Shhh. We don't want anybody to hear us." Bobby replied   
They had decided to come back late at night and check out if anything unusual   
was going on. Bobby could still remember Teresa's cry for help in his head, and had to make sure that she was okay. Slowly, the boys made it to one of the windows and opened it. With difficulty, they crept inside. The whole house was dark, and they struggled not to hit anything. They headed to where the rooms were. Suddenly, two big hands grabbed their necks and squeezed.   
"What do you think you're doing?!" They could recognize the voice. It was   
Big Joe.   
"Oh man, we're screwed." thought Bobby.   
"I'm gonna call the cops, so don't even think of trying anything funny." the   
big man said   
Bobby thought of using his ice powers to escape, but figured they were in   
enough trouble already.   
----------------   
Jack Knight went to the police station to pick up Bobby and Steve. They were being held in one of the offices. The boys breathed a sigh of relief when   
they finally saw Jack. Jack looked at them with a serious face and said: "Let's go."   
  
Bobby and Steve did not dare to say anything after that. They followed Jack   
to the car and got in. Bobby looked back as the car drove away from the   
station. Jack looked at him in his rear view mirror.   
  
"So this is what it feels like to be on the other side" thought Jack. He was   
remembering the times when his father Ted Knight had to go to the police   
station to pick him up. It had been Jack's way of demanding attention from   
his father. Now, he was dying to know what was going to be the boy's excuse.   
  
"What the hell were you thinking?" Jack said, finally ending the silence.   
"Jack, we're sorry, let us explain..." Steve replied   
"Please do."

The boys explained all that occurred when they initially visited the safe house. Jack listened intently. Bobby was surprised that Jack was able to keep an open mind to the whole telepathic thing.

"Bobby, it's not that I don't believe you, but are you 100% sure that girl was telepathically asking for help?"

 "I think so." Bobby hesitated "I'm pretty sure."

Jack sighed.

"I'm sorry, Jack."

"It's ok, Bobby. It's just that you have to be really sure of something like that before you go breaking and entering." Jack could not be too hard on the boys, knowing some of the things he did when he was young.

"What we did was real dumb, Jack, and we're sorry." Steve said apologetically

"Well, the important thing is that the cops said that the administrator, Lou, decided not to push charges."

"Charges? But we did not do anything!"

"The guy told the cops that you had been at the mutant house earlier that day acting strangely, and suggested that maybe you were looking for things to steal. He even mentioned that you were harassing a young girl, and that maybe you came back to…well…"

"Oh come on! That is such bull and he knows it!" Steve screamed angrily

"Maybe, but he has indicated that if you two come anywhere near his safe house again, he will look for legal remedies." Jack answered

"He must be hiding something to come down so hard on us." Bobby suggested

"I guess we can forget about your little pep talk, huh?" Steve said

"You can forget about that place, period. I don't want you anywhere within a two-mile radius of that place. Do you hear?"

"Yes, sir."

Jack looked at the boys with their sad faces.

"Look, I'll see what I can find out about that place. If something's not right about that place, we'll find out about it, and then we'll call the cops. How's that?"  
"Thanks, Jack."

Jack sighed and turned back to driving. Man, he thought, just wait till my kids are teenagers…   

-------------

The next couple of days were uneventful. The boys did a lot of sightseeing and partying. Steve danced with a lot of girls. Bobby danced with a few, but kept thinking about Rogue. Every song seemed to remind him of her, and the current song was no exception. He was now convinced that he wanted to work things out with her when he got back. But recently, another girl had crept into his dreams, literally. 

One night after coming out of a club, Bobby was driving back to the Knight residence when he took a detour.

"Hey, where are we going?"

"Don't be mad, Steve, but I gotta go check it out."

"Check what out?"  
Bobby was silent.

"Not the mutant house!" Steve said

"I had a dream again last night, Steve. It was her; she was asking me to help her. Her face was so sad…and it all seemed so real…"

"Bobby, you're obsessed with this girl, you gotta let it go."

"No! I know what it feels like when somebody like the Professor or Jean talks directly to your mind. That is what I felt that first day with her, and that's how I feel when I wake up afterwards. I know that it was not my imagination. You got to believe me, Steve."

Steve thought for a second.

"Ok, but we're NOT going in. Maybe we can stay in the car and see if anything unusual goes on."

"Deal."

----------

"Tell me again why we're sitting in our car at 2 in the morning…? It's been almost an hour, Bobby, and nothing. How long are we going to stay here?"

"Steve, you've seen those movies where the cops have a stakeout. They don't stay an hour and leave, they stay the night."

"The night?! You're planning on staying the night here staring at that place?"

"Just trust me, man. I've just got a feeling; I don't know how to describe it. Something's gonna happen."

"Alright, I'll play along. But we'll have a lot of explaining to do to Jack and Sadie when we get back to the house."

Just then, a large man walked out of the mutant safe house. He was carrying two large bags.

"That's that guy, Big Joe, right?" Bobby whispered

"What's he carrying in those bags?"

The two boys were silent and they watched Big Joe put the bags in the trunk of a car outside. He then got in and drove away. Bobby and Steve followed as carefully as they could. The car headed out north to the coast, and after a while stopped at a desolate cliff overlooking the water. The boys hid behind some trees as they saw Big Joe take out the two bags and throw them out to the sea.

-------

Bobby and Steve had gotten back to the house late, so it was not until mid-morning that they woke up. They decided to tell Jack what they had seen. 

"It doesn't mean anything, the guy could have been dumping hazardous waste for all we know…" Jack reasoned

"You're right, Jack. I just had a feeling…"

"What kind of feeling?"

"You know I'm a mutant. Well, that's not all. I'm also part of a team of mutants that battle evil." Bobby immediately realized how corny that must have sounded.

"I know, Steve told me." Jack said

Bobby turned to Steve "You told him already?" 

"I didn't know it was supposed to be such a secret."

"Steve…" Bobby gave him an annoyed look.

"It's ok, Bobby. In fact, I guess you could say that it's a small world after all. You see, I was also a superhero, until I retired from it to be with Sadie."

"Really? I didn't know!" said Steve

"And except for anybody that has lived in Opal City, you probably wouldn't. I was Starman, Opal City's resident superhero. In the 1940's my father discovered cosmic energy…"

"What?"

"err..energy from the stars,… which he was able to capture in a device called a cosmic rod. With it he could fly, project energy blasts, and do other stuff. He was Starman. Anyway, I don't want to bore you to death. To make a long story short, I ended up using the cosmic rod and being Starman for a while."

"But you're not anymore?"

"No, I gave the rod to someone else and moved here with Sadie and my son. And about your "hunch", Bobby, many times I felt the same thing, and seldom does it turn out to be wrong." Jack thought for a minute. "However, I have checked with several people, and nobody has anything bad to say about that safe house. A lot of the kids that go in there are runaways that nobody knows, so there's really no way to determine who comes in and out, or how long they stay… Why don't we do this? Let's go to the police and see if they can help. If not, we can consider other options."

---------

After the boys had finished their story, the inspector eyed them silently. Jack interrupted the uncomfortable silence.

"Officer Davis, I was hoping that the police could investigate this so-called mutant house, and maybe take a look at what was in those bags."

"Let me get this straight. You want me to tie up limited police resources to go investigate a mutant safe house, because some teenager has a bad feeling, and then saw somebody dump two bags in the ocean…Oh, and a girl asked for your help mentally, right?…Were you boys drinking or is this your idea of a joke?"

"We…sir…no we were not. All we told you is true."

"And what do you think is in those bags? Little mutant body parts? Maybe this Lou guy is a mutant serial killer, is that it?"

The boys looked at the floor, feeling kind of stupid.

"Officer, I think it might be safe for everybody if somebody took a look." Jack interjected

"Look, Mr. Knight, I know you were some big shot hero or something back East, but in here the name Knight does not get cops all bending to your will like in Opal City."

The inspector stood up and started to walk away. Jack also stood up and stopped him. He talked softly to him so nobody could hear.

"Look, I know it's not much to go by, but I also have a bad feeling about this one. It reminds me of somebody I fought some time back. I really think you should…"

"No, I don't need to do anything. And if you ask me, if somebody's out there killing muties and stuffing them in Glad bags, more power to them."

(You arrogant bigot) thought Jack. He restrained the urge to punch him, and stepped aside. The inspector left muttering curse words under his breath. Jack looked over at the boys still sitting by the desk. At least Bobby did not have to hear what the inspector had said. He walked over to them with a grim face.

(Perhaps the mental cries for help and the dreams were all in my imagination. Maybe it's my subconscious dealing with my problems with Rogue. That must be it…God, I'm so stupid.). Bobby's thoughts were interrupted by Steve's question.

"What do we do now?" 

"I'll talk to Clarence O'Dare in Opal. He's the police chief there and a good friend. Perhaps he knows somebody here that's…friendlier." He eyed the boys. "In the meantime, just remember to stay out of that place. Once I can obtain some good contacts in this police department, we can all figure this out without you two getting in trouble again. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

--------  

Hours later, the boys stood by the cliff where Big Joe had thrown the bags.

"Why did I let you convince me to come here? Jack told us to stay out of trouble."

"No, he told us to stay away from the mutant safe house, he didn't say anything about not heading here. Besides, all's that's probably in those bags is some shady accounting papers, or somebody's erotic home videos." Bobby replied.

"So why are we trying to get them?"

"I don't know…to be sure, I guess." Bobby was now thinking that his mind was playing tricks on him. But there was a part of him that wanted to make sure that was the case.

"Ok. So how the hell are we going to get to those bags?" Steve said, looking down towards the rough water below.

"You forget, Steve. I'm the Iceman." (I don't know why I didn't think of this before) thought Bobby as he started to remove his clothes.

"And you're taking off your clothes because…"

"When I ice up, they get ruined. I don't know how to prevent that yet." Pretty soon, Bobby was only wearing his boxers.

"Aren't you cold?"

"Nope." Bobby answered, as his whole body iced up. "Now I am."

"Hilarious…Hey…when you become ice like that…does…_it_…ice up too?"

"What do you think?"

"So, is there significant shrinkage?"

"Even if there was, I'd still be bigger than you."

"That's cold, man."

"What can I say? Cold is my thing." Bobby said, diving head first into the water.

A few minutes later, Bobby came out with the two bags. Steve had walked down to the shore and now the two boys looked at the two big bags hesitantly.

"Well, I guess we shouldn't waste any time…this will probably confirm how crazy we are." 

Each one started opening one bag. As the contents inside were revealed, the boys stepped away in horror, trying not to pass out or throw up. Inside the bags were body parts covered in blood.   


	6. Into the Fire

Chapter Six: Into the Fire

PG-13. Action/Suspense. 

Disclaimer: All X-men characters property of Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. Starman and Sandman characters are property of DC Comics. Steve and Teresa are mine.

Teresa Arroyo crouched on the floor of the damp cell. It was dark inside, and a putrid smell filled the air. If this was going to be her end, she thought, they could not have picked a worse place. She sat pondering how she ended up here. Growing up, her life had been pretty happy. That is, until that cold winter night when everything took a wrong turn. Everybody was asleep in the house, when Teresa started having a strange dream. In it, she was flying through the black void of the universe at light speed, until she saw a brilliant light far away. The light got closer and closer, until she entered it, and she was engulfed in white light. Then, in her dream, she felt pain in her head. She started to scream, as her head felt like it was going to explode. Then, she saw them there, in her dream: her father, mother, brothers and sisters. They were there, in the white light, and they were covering their ears, trying to protect themselves from the noise. But Teresa could not stop screaming, even though they looked like their heads were going to explode too. Then, she yelled: "Enough!" and the dream was over. She woke drenched in sweat. Around the house, all the other members of her family woke up at the same time, holding their heads to make sure it was still in one piece. 

Nothing was the same after that. After some investigating, her parents realized that she was a mutant. They tried to treat her the same, but deep down, they could not. Deep down they were scared that one night they would not wake up again.     

A few nights later, Teresa could not sleep. Sitting on her bed, she heard the footsteps of her younger brother walking in the hallway. Opening the door slightly, she held her breath and listened as her father woke up and crouched by the young boy.

"What's wrong, tiger?"  
"I'm scared, daddy."

"Of what?"

"I…I don't wanna have any nightmares…I'm scared of dreaming of…her again…"

A deep silence followed, then she heard her father say: "I won't let her harm you, son. I won't."

That same night, Teresa packed her things and left. She wandered around for a while, meeting other runaways and learning about her power. Apparently, she could talk into other people's heads. She could also get inside other people's dreams. She could not create or change them, but, like a spectator, she could watch it all, even walk into it, talk and act. It only seemed to work with some people, though. She could not understand why that was. Regardless, she seldom tried it, scared of the consequences.

A few weeks ago, tired and hungry, she had walked into Lou's mutant safe house. But instead of rest and food, she found pain. As soon as she stepped inside the house, she felt weak. The feeling never went away. Soon, the sadistic Big Joe imprisoned her in one of the cells. Days passed, her will to escape evaporated away, and all hope left her. Soon she was only an empty chamber, and Big Joe opened the cell door. They knew that she was not going to try to escape.

One day, she saw two boys walk into the house. They talked to Lou, and then stopped next to her. One of them asked her: "What's your name?" Inside her mind, the few remnants of her will were battling to get out, seeing for the first time a chance to escape. She concentrated on the boy's mind, but all she could muster was a faint cry for help. She thought that he did not hear her, but he did. He did! Hope started to grow inside her again, and she tried time and time again to contact that boy. Her blank stare slowly melted away. But Lou did not fail to notice. He had Big Joe place her in the cell again. 

"Hello, darling." A voice suddenly said from the other side of the cell door. "I got some business to take care of first." The voice said. A crackling sound, like electricity buzzing in the air, was heard. It was a sound that Teresa knew too well.  "But when I'm finished, I'm gonna come back to take care of you, for the last time."  The voice laughed.

The cold laughter faded away, as Teresa clenched her teeth and banged on the floor. "No! I will not go like this!" She concentrated, and her mind cried for help, hoping that wherever he was, the boy from the other day could hear her. 

---------

"What the hell do we do now?" Steve said, driving at high speed.

"I don't know, Steve. Maybe talk to the cops again…"

"You saw how that inspector treated us…they probably don't care if…" Steve stopped himself.

"You can say it. They probably don't care if a mutie got killed."

"I'm sorry man."

"It's not your fault, Steve, you don't have to apologize."

Just then, Bobby screamed and grabbed his head. 

"Bobby! What's going on?"

After a few seconds, Bobby let go of his head and looked at Steve.

"It was her."

"Who?"

"Teresa. She got in my head again, she showed me too. It was not my imagination after all, I know it. She's in trouble, Steve."

"How so?"  
"I think they locked her up. She was in some kind of dungeon. And she was scared…I think she believes they're going to kill her tonight…"

"Oh my God…did you see where this dungeon was?"

"No, but I doubt they would have dared to attract attention by taking her out of the house."

Steve thought for a second. "You're right, Bobby! There's been rumors in the past that some of the houses in Chinatown have huge dungeons underneath. Supposedly they were used in the mid 19th century to enslave young immigrant Chinese girls…they were used or sold as prostitutes."

"How do you know that?" 

"History buff, remember? Although sometimes I wish I wasn't…so many atrocities in our history…"

Bobby almost said: "Your history" but stopped himself.

"Well, if you're right, then we need to get to the safe house quickly!" Bobby said

"What are we gonna do when we get there?"  
"Not we, me. I'll take care of that Big Joe bastard and that Lou. You stay in the car and call for help if you see things getting hairy."

"I don't like this plan, Bobby. Maybe we can call Jack."

"No, he is retired from being a superhero. It would be unfair to him and his family if we dragged him back in now. And besides, we'll just get in trouble. You know he's told us twice to stay away from the safe house."

Bobby could still see Steve's apprehension.

"Trust me, Steve. We train hard to handle guys like those two."

------  

Jack and Sadie sat eating dinner with the children.

"Are you ok, honey?" Sadie asked

"No, not really. I have a bad feeling, Sadie, like I haven't had in a long time."

"Is it the boy's story about the mutant safe house?"

"Yes. Initially I thought it was nothing. But then, I remembered somebody I fought early on as Starman; Bliss. What if he has come back? I mean, we thought we destroyed him, but how can you be sure with one as him?"

Jack's mind went back to that night at the freak circus. The owner of the circus freaks, Mr. Bliss, turned out to be something much darker than an evil man. He kept the circus freaks under his control, and relished their pain.

"Jack, do you know where Steve and Bobby are?"

"No, I tried Steve's cell phone but it's busy."

"Do you think they might have gone back to that house?"

"I don't know. I told them not to…"

"Jack, I know I asked you to leave the superhero life for me and the kids, but if you think the boys might be in trouble, I'll be the first one to push you out the door."

Jack stood up, and headed to his study. He came out with a small electronic rod in his hand.

"Your spare cosmic rod…" said Sadie

"Don't leave home without it…" Jack said, before kissing Sadie and heading out.

-----------   
The boys had arrived at the safe house and Iceman was sneaking inside while Steve sat outside in the car listening to his cell phone. Iceman's cell phone was turned on in his pocket, enabling Steve to hear what was going on; a poor man's hi-tech communication system. As Iceman walked inside, he saw that the house was dark. No living thing was within sight. Slowly he crept farther in, his hands iced up and ready for action. Suddenly, he heard a voice behind him.

"Mr. Drake, I've been expecting you."

Iceman turned around to see Lou smoking a cigar. 

"The girl contacted you, didn't she? I hate the ones with mind powers, don't you?"

"I know what you're up to, Lou. Let the mutants go." Iceman said, pointing his hands at the man.

"No, you don't know what I'm up to, boy. You have no idea."

Just then, Iceman heard voices all around him. In an instant, he saw that he was surrounded by a group of kids. He could see that it was the same mutant kids he had seen before at the house, only this time their sad faces were replaced by an appetite for destruction. Instantly, Iceman built an ice slide and got out of the way a fraction of a second before one of the kids fired an energy blast at him. He slid around the house while the mutants sped behind him, and Lou's laughter filled the air.

Inside the car, Steve jumped and got out of the car. He decided to call Jack. With trembling fingers he dialed the number. Sadie answered the phone.

"Mrs. Knight! Is Jack in?"

"Steve! Are you ok? Where are you?"

"We're at the safe house, we need Jack's help!"

"He's on his way! Stay there, Steve, wait for him!"

From the street, Steve could hear screams coming from inside the house. Bursts of light coming from inside interrupted the night air.

"Oh my God, they're killing him!" he said

"Steve! Wait for Jack! He is coming!" Sadie screamed, but there was nobody on the other side. Steve opened the trunk, took out his baseball bat, and headed towards the safe house


	7. The Heat of Battle

Chapter Seven:  Cold Heart

PG-13. Action/Suspense. 

Disclaimer: All X-men characters property of Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. Starman and Sandman characters are property of DC Comics. Steve and Teresa are mine.

--------

Jack Knight was flying above the San Francisco skyline. 

_It's been a while since I've done this_. He thought, holding on to the cosmic rod. _I hope that Steve and Bobby listened to me and did not go to that place_.

 ----

Inside the safe house, Iceman slid away from the mutants. One of them was firing bone spikes at him. Another one had hit Iceman's shoulder with an energy blast. The pain was somewhat bearable, because of the adrenalin in Iceman's body. For a second, he thought. _I'm going to die_ but quickly pushed the thought aside. Suddenly, a mutant jumped from behind a door and fell on Iceman. He was trying to freeze the assailant when other hands were upon him, clawing and slashing. 

"Let go of him!" Iceman could not see who was talking, but he saw the bat hitting the head of one of the assailants. The others were caught by surprise, giving Iceman a chance to free himself. 

"Steve!  What are you doing here?"

"That's how you thank me for saving your frozen butt?"

"No, but if you were expecting a kiss, you can forget it, pal."   
There was no time to joke, as the mutants once again started to charge towards them. Iceman immediately froze two of them to a wall, then stopped a barrage of bone spikes that was heading towards Steve. But more mutants kept coming. 

"We gotta get out of here!"

"How? They're covering the exit!"

"There must be another way out!"

_This way_ heard Iceman inside his head. It seemed to him like it had come from a door at the end of the hallway, with steel bars on it. 

"This way, Steve!"

The young men headed towards the door, which turned out to be unlocked. When they opened it, they saw that it led to a set of stairs going down. 

"This must be the way to the dungeon!" Steve said. "Supposedly the dungeons had several exits to the outside world."

"Then let's find one, and find Teresa too."

They walked downstairs. Iceman turned and created a massive ice wall behind them. The mutant assailants got to the door just as the ice was forming. But then, they started to destroy the ice wall. Iceman then started to reinforce the ice wall.

"Steve, go! I'll hold them back!"

"I'm not going anywhere without you, man!"

"Look, find Teresa, maybe she knows a way out, or maybe there's some mutants down here in the dungeon that are not in league with Lou. Maybe they can help us."

"Ok, but I'll be back." 

"That's the worst Terminator impersonation I've heard in my life." Bobby said, as Steve ran off into the depths of the dungeon.

----------

Jack Knight flew down to the safe house and saw Steve's car parked in an alley. As he was heading towards the door, he saw Lou, although he knew him by another name.

"Bliss." Jack said.

"Starman. Oh, I'm sorry, you're not the man anymore, are you? You gave your Starman rod to that girl. I wonder what she had to do to get to play with your rod…"

"You make me sick, Bliss. Let's end this quickly."

"With pleasure."

Bliss's face changed. His eyes were now dark red, and his mouth was alive inside with fire.

---------

Steve ran down, passing cell doors that were closed. He was shouting Teresa's name, until he heard her calling back from one of the cells. He opened the cell door and Teresa ran out, hugging him.

"Gracias!" she said

"Teresa, we need your help. Is there a way out of here?"

"I don't know the way out, but there are some other mutants here that can help us. Lou keeps down here the mutants that he has not been able to control with mental powers."

"Mental powers? Is he a mutant?"

"No"

Voices inside the other cells were now calling out. At last, they were seeing a ray of hope, a chance to escape the horrible dungeons and the tortures.

"Let's help the others!" Teresa said, but then stopped, her face white with fear.

Steve turned to see what was the problem. In front of them stood a big, tall man.

"Big Joe…"

"Not Big Joe, my name is Crusher. Wanna know why they call me that?"

---------   

Iceman knew that his ice wall was not going to hold up much longer. He breathed in and got ready. A huge blast tore the ice wall apart, and a dozen angry mutants headed his way. He froze the floor under them and they fell crashing against the walls. Quickly he encased two in ice. The mutant with the bone spikes shot another barrage, but Iceman created a shield to deflect them. With his other hand, he froze the mutant that was creating the energy blasts. That still left at least eight more mutants, all heading towards Iceman. "Bring it on!" he shouted, as ice flew out of his hands.

---------

Jack shot a cosmic blast at Bliss. Bliss ducked , then jumped towards Jack, flying in the cold night air.

"Where are the boys, Bliss?"

"The Drake kid? Probably dead by now. I unleashed against him all the mutants that I'm controlling mentally. The other one is probably cowering in fear somewhere."

Bliss's claws missed Jack's chest by a few inches. Jack kicked him and flew higher, with Bliss following him.

"The ignorant boy did not know what hit him. He has no idea what I am."

"But I do. You're a demon, an incubus. You feed off the pain and suffering of others, draining their life away. I can feel you trying to feed off my emotions. But it won't work this time, 'cause I ain't scared of ya. I beat you once and I'll beat you again!"

Jack said, firing a blast straight at Bliss.

"Fool! I'm even more powerful than when we fought. The pain of those circus freaks was nothing compared to the pain of dozens of mutant outcasts, thrown out and rejected by their own family! I've used up so many that I've lost count! And when I'm done with them, I just throw them out, cause they'll always be new ones coming in!"

Bliss opened his mouth and fire shot out towards Jack. Quickly Jack covered himself in energy and deflected the fire.

"I've also learned a few tricks since last time, Bliss!" 

Jack captured Bliss's body inside an energy bubble, and accelerated the bubble down towards the ground. "You can call this one the Ted Knight slam." At the last possible second before the bubble reached the ground, the energy dissipated, leaving only Bliss's unprotected body. It slammed against the ground at tremendous speed, leaving a crater with Bliss's body inside. Jack flew down and inspected the demon. It was writhing in pain.  

"My mutants…they're abandoning me…"

"Bobby and Steve must be freeing them. Perhaps their fear and pain is now starting to give way to hope. And that can only mean trouble, for you anyway. This is the end of the line, Bliss. Don't you ever show your ugly face again!" Jack aimed the cosmic rod at Bliss point blank and fired. Bliss screamed and cursed, but slowly his form evaporated, leaving only a putrid smell and flames.

Immediately, the mutants that had been fighting Iceman stopped. They shook their heads and looked at Iceman.

"Huh. They must have been under mind control. I wonder what released them from it?"

"Where are we?" one of them said. But then Iceman remembered Steve. He might still need some help. They still had not run into Big Joe. Immediately, he headed down to the dungeons.

-------

Crusher grabbed Steve by his neck and raised him to his eye level.

"Are you ready to die?" Crusher said, and threw Steve against a wall. 

"Stop it!" Teresa said, concentrating on Crusher's mind.

"Trying to mess with my mind, mutie? Bliss installed a neural device in my head." He said, and slapped Teresa's face. "Your power won't work against me."

"Don't you touch her, you big jerk!" said Steve, now holding up his bat, blood dripping down from his mouth.

"Ready for more?"  
Steve swung at Crusher, but the bat broke off when it hit Crusher's huge arms. Crusher then punched Steve's stomach.. Steve fell down on the floor, feeling like something had just punched a hole through his abdomen. Crusher then kicked his face, and Steve fell face up with a loud thud. He was not moving.

"Well, that's the end of that. And now…" he said, turning towards Teresa.

"Why…?" she asked

"Because I enjoy seeing others in pain. Because I have superhuman strength. And because I can." His big hands were now inches from Teresa's neck. Then suddenly, an electric crackle was heard, and Crusher screamed from deep within his soul. He fell down, with electricity jumping out of his body. Behind him, Steve was on his knees, with an electric prodder on his hands.

"I found this on the floor.." he said with difficulty

"He used it to torture us…" Teresa said

"Well, now he's got a taste of his own medicine…" Steve said, falling face down and losing consciousness.

Just then, Iceman walked in and saw Steve on the floor. 

"Steve!" he ran towards his friend. Teresa was now holding Steve's body. "He's breathing, but he's badly hurt…I fear if we don't get him to a hospital fast…" Teresa said

"Steve…I'm so sorry. Let's get you to a hospital."

Then, a heavy voice was heard.

"Argghh, that was intense." Crusher said, standing up slowly "But you'll need more than that to put me down!"

Crusher stood up and ran towards Iceman.

"You monster!" Iceman said, hands up in front of him. Crusher stopped on his tracks, unable to move. "You've killed mutants, God knows how many, and Steve…if Steve dies, I swear to God, I'll kill you!"

Inside Crusher's body, the blood entering his heart was being frozen. As more blood filled the muscle and froze, Crusher's chest cavity started to expand. He writhed in pain as his frozen heart expanded, until a loud snap was heard when his ribs broke under the internal pressure. Crusher fell down on his back. 

"Bobby!" Jack came in flying, the light from his cosmic rod illuminating the whole room. He saw a girl crouching on the floor by Steve's body. Bobby was standing up, arms extended, and a blank look on his face. Crusher was on the floor. He was not moving. Jack walked closer and saw a hole in Crusher's chest. Inside the hole, he could see a large block of ice where the heart should have been.


	8. The Coming of Winter

Chapter Eight: The Coming of Winter 

PG-13. Drama. 

Disclaimer: All X-men characters property of Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. Starman and Sandman characters are property of DC Comics. Steve and Teresa are mine.

The cold San Francisco air buzzed by as they flew towards the hospital. Jack had made a platform for them. On it, Bobby and Teresa were holding Steve.  

"…Bobby?" Steve said softly, regaining consciousness.

"Don't try to talk, Steve. Just relax. We're almost at the hospital."

"You know how I was jealous of you being a superhero and all? Well, not anymore." Steve tried to smile, but instead his face contorted in a strange gesture. 

"Please, Steve, try not to talk, save your strength." Bobby held Steve's hand. "I'm sorry, Steve, this is all my fault."

"No, it isn't, Bobby, don't say that." Steve looked at Bobby, trying hard to focus. "Hey, I got to be bat-man for a little while. Get it? Bat-man?"

"I get it." said Bobby sadly

"Then why aren't you laughing?" Steve said with a smile. 

"We're here!" they heard Jack say, as they began descending to the hospital entrance.

----    
The doctors quickly took Steve into the emergency room. Jack went to talk with the nurses while Teresa put her hand in Bobby's shoulder.

"I'm sorry about your friend. I really hope he gets better."

"Me too." Bobby said, feeling the moisture in his eyes.

"I will never forget what you two did for me, and all the others in the house. If it wasn't for you and your friend, I would have been dead. Thank you, Bobby. May God bless you and your friend."

Bobby nodded, and walked towards the chairs. 

--------

Time passed by slowly. They had been sitting in the waiting room for what seemed like an eternity. Sadie tried her best to control the kids while trying to keep herself under control. Teresa crouched in one corner. Jack walked to and fro, unable to stay still. Bobby sat down in a chair, jumping every time the intensive care door opened. Jack walked towards Bobby and sat next to him.

"He'll be ok." Jack told him.

"But what if he's not?"

Jack sat there silently.

"I'm such an idiot. This is all my fault, Jack. I never should have involved Steve in this."

"It's not your fault, Bobby. We all choose our own paths. Steve chose to go into that house. He chose to confront Crusher. Those choices speak of the power of friendship, and of his courage. Those were his choices, and we shouldn't take that away from him, we owe him that much."

"If Steve…if he doesn't make it…I don't know if I can ever forgive myself..." Bobby's voice cracked with pain. Jack placed his arm around Bobby's shoulder.

"You got to be strong, Bobby, and hope for the best." 

"I heard the doctors, Jack. The internal bleeding is severe. They're trying their best, but…" Bobby could not continue talking. Jack looked away with a pained look. 

"Then let's just pray, shall we?"

------- 

 The waiting room was silent, when suddenly Teresa felt something, a presence. Confused, she looked around, but did not see anything. Then, he recognized who it was. Her jaw dropped, but she was unable to speak. She looked towards Bobby, who had finally surrendered to sleep. A thought came into Teresa's mind then. She did not know if she could even do it, but figured she owed them a try.

---------

 Bobby was walking outside, but everything seemed strange. The whole world was white, as if a giant white cloth had been placed on top of heaven and earth. It was also very cold. Bobby was trembling, and noticed that he had no clothes on. He walked slowly, until he saw a structure up ahead. Getting closer, he saw that it was an igloo. He walked in, and found a blanket, which he placed around his body. The cold was much more bearable here, Bobby thought. He looked around to see if he could find some logs to make a fire, but there was nothing. 

Just then, a young man in a coat walked in, with wood logs in his arms.

"Hi, Steve. I see you've found some wood."

"Yeah, maybe we can make a fire now."

The two young men worked together until the wood was flickering in flames. 

"Hmm, this is nice, huh?"

"Yeah. How long do you plan on staying here, Bobby?"  
"I don't know, it's too cold outside."

"That's what you always said when we were kids." Steve said, as he threw another log at the fire. Bobby looked at Steve and saw that he was lost in thought.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Just remembering… I remember one time you told me you had a theory. You said that most people are unhappy and they just pretend to be happy to fit in. Well, I have another theory. I think that in reality, some of those people are in fact happy, but by focusing on the things that they don't have instead of the things that they do have, they fool themselves into thinking that they are not."

"What do you mean?" Steve looked at Bobby and smiled.

"Never mind. You know, you can't stay in here forever."

"I suppose not. How about you? Will you stay here with me?"

"You know I can't Bobby, I gotta go soon."

"I'm sorry about that."

"It's not your fault, Bobby. It's just the way things happen sometimes. I don't regret anything that I did. You shouldn't either."

Bobby thought for a second. "Can I come with you?"

"Of course not."

The two young men sat looking at the fire in the center of the floor.

"Steve, I don't know if I ever told you this, but you have been the best friend in the world for me. So many times you've lifted me up when I was down. I really want to thank you for always being there, for always being my friend."

"You've always been there for me too, Bobby. You're like the brother I never had."

"I was so proud of you when I've learned of your involvement with the association. And what you did back at the mutant safe house…If only the world had more people like you."

"The world will be fine, as long as there are folks like you looking out for the rest of us. I'm the one brimming with pride, knowing of all the good that my best friend will do, proud to have known you."

 "I'm sorry that we waited until now to say all these things."

"Hey, at least we got the chance to." Steve said, suddenly looking towards the entrance. "She's calling me, Bobby. I need to go with her."

"Who?"

"The nice lady in the black dress. I don't know her name, but I know what she is."

"Can't she wait?"

"I'm afraid not. She already was nice enough to let me stop by. Although I couldn't have done it by myself." 

"So what happens now?"

"I don't know. I gotta go, and you need to get out of here before that fire burns itself out."

Steve stood up. 

"Good luck, bro."

"Thanks, bro." Steve started to walk out. "Goodbye, Steve."

"Take care, Bobby. Later." He said, before, heading out the igloo.

-----

Bobby woke up, realizing that he had dozed off in the waiting room. The door of the intensive unit opened, and a doctor walked towards Jack and Sadie. No words were needed; the doctor's face said it all. Right then, Bobby knew. Jack held Sadie in his arms as she cried. The children got scared and started grabbing Sadie's legs. She picked them up and told Jack that she was ok, looking towards the chair where Bobby sat motionless. Jack walked over to Bobby, as Teresa came by and placed a hand in Sadie's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Bobby." Jack said

"So am I." 

Jack sat down next to him.

"I've also lost a lot of people that I cared about, Bobby. I lost my brother and my father. And the saddest part was that my relationship with both of them was not really that good for the majority of my life. When I lost them, I did not have a lot of good memories to go back to. But you and Steve had that. True friendships are very rare, you know. I'm sure you guys went through a lot together, so many memories. And you will always have that."

"I feel like shit."

"Don't. You and Steve risked everything to help others. You two saved a great amount of lives tonight. But with helping others, there's always some sacrifice, and Steve made the ultimate sacrifice. That is how the life of heroes is defined, by sacrifices. Steve was a true hero, and so are you Bobby. Always remember that."

Bobby could still hear Jack talking to him, but his mind had already gone somewhere else, as tears slid down his face.

--------------

The next days were a haze. Bobby did not know how he went through them. 

Outside of his Westchester room, Hank and Warren knocked on the door again.

"He's been in there ever since the funeral. Three days straight."

"Bobby, open up please. Let's talk about it." Hank said

Rogue walked by with a concerned look.

"Is he still there?" asked Rogue

"Yes." Warren answered

"Maybe we should force the door, see if he's ok." Rogue suggested

"I doubt that would be the best course of action. If Bobby wants to be alone right now, I think we should honor that request."  responded Hank

Inside, Bobby sat on ice; his whole room was covered in ice, like a cavern in the Ice Age. He rocked himself back and forth. So much had happened in such little time. Too much, he thought. So much pain and death. Death, he thought, remembering how he felt when Crusher died. He had not meant to, but he had underestimated his ice power, and ended up killing him. He was confused, unsure how he should be feeling about that, about everything. The knocking of the door got stronger. He could hear the voices calling him, and music in the background, so far away.

"Sam, please lower the volume of that thing!" Warren said

Bobby started covering himself up in ice to muffle out the noise. The last notes of the song hung in the cold air for a while, bouncing around in Bobby's head: "It's not easy to be me".   

The next morning, Westchester received its first snow of the season. Hank was heading towards Bobby's room again, when he saw the young man walking down the stairs.

"Bobby! You're out. How are you feeling?"  
"I'm fine now, Hank, thank you."

"Let's go somewhere we can talk."

"It's ok, Hank, that's not necessary."

" I beg to differ, Bobby. These strong emotions need to be dealt with in the open."

"I've dealt with them already, Hank. I'm ready now to rejoin the world. Please, don't worry about me, ok?"

"Bobby, I really don't think…"

"Hank, please. I've grieved a lot, and now I'm ready to leave that behind. Talking about it…well, it just makes it worse."

Hank was silent, then replied: "If you insist."

After a pregnant pause, Bobby looked out the window. 

"Hey, I saw that we got some snow last night, huh? You guys didn't start a snow fight without me, did you?"

"Well, as a matter of fact, most of the kids are outside engaging in a snow battle."

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" Bobby created a ball of snow in his hand and threw it at Hank. The white snow stuck to his blue fur.

"Hmm, I believe you're going to regret that, young man."

"Ha! We'll see" Bobby said, as he hopped on Hank's back. "Come on, before the snow melts!"

Hank raised an eyebrow. "Very well, here we go." He said, jumping and tossing in the air, as Bobby's arms wrapped around Hank's neck, holding on for dear life.

In a few seconds, they were outside. Most of the kids had gathered there, throwing snowballs at each other.

"Surrender! The Iceman has arrived!" Bobby shouted, as a rain of snowballs shot out of his hands, leaving everyone covered in it. From behind, Bobby heard a voice.

"Bobby?"

He turned around to see Rogue walking towards him. He half-walked, half-ran to her and looked deep into her eyes.

"I'm sorry." He said

"I'm sorry too." She replied. The two wrapped themselves in a warm hug, and, for a little while anyway, the cold seemed to melt away from Bobby's soul.

NEXT: Spring Cut (Drama/Humor)

THANKS FOR THE GOOD REVIEWS!


	9. Spring Cut

Chapter Nine: Spring Cut 

Drama/Humor. PG. 

_Note from Author: Thanks for the great reviews! I hope you like the rest of the story! And keep the reviews coming, please! We all spend a lot of time working on these fanfics, probably more than we should, and reviews are the only "payment" we get. Thanks again. _

Disclaimer: Iceman, and all other X-Men are property of Marvel Comics. I'm using them in this story without permission, and I am receiving no money for it. Teresa is mine.

It had been a few months since San Francisco, but it was all still very vivid in Bobby's mind. He tried to focus on other things to some degree; "light" things that would help him escape. One of those things was comics. 

"Here it is, Bobby."

"Thanks." Bobby Drake looked at the latest issue of  "Hulk" in his hand. He had been coming to this comic book store ever since he moved in to the school. In the past, Scott dropped him and John at the store while he went to do other errands. Now that John, or Pyro, his mutant name, had gone with Magneto, Bobby visited the store alone. He paid, and was getting ready to leave when a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"I knew I'd find you here today. You always came in when the new issue arrived."

Bobby turned to see John standing next to him.

"John!" Bobby's mind raced, not sure whether he should embrace his old friend or start shooting ice at him. John could see Bobby's hesitation.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to fight. And the name's Pyro."

"Pyro, ok…" Bobby said, unable to come up with what to say. Pyro laughed.

"Actually, I want my stuff back. My CD's, my mags, you know, the important stuff."

"What? How do you know we didn't throw all that away?"

"'Cause I know you. You probably half expected me to show up again."

Bobby nodded to himself.

"Why did you leave?"

"Why do you think?"

"Pyro, Magneto is bad news. It's not too late to come back to Xavier's."

"Nah, at least with Magneto I don't have to hide my abilities, I can be who I want to be. You wouldn't understand."

"Wouldn't understand? What about all those late nights when we just talked? I know you, Pyro, and I know that leaving with Magneto is not the solution you need. I can't believe you really think I wouldn't understand. We used to be friends!"

"That's in the past, Iceman. I'm gone now for good, so just accept that. Can't live in the past, gotta live in the present. And back to the present, I need my stuff."

"Well, how am I supposed to get it to you, anyway?"

"I talked to Mike, the store owner, and you can drop my stuff off with him. I'll come by and get it later."

"You are serious. You're not coming back, are you?"

"No."

Bobby thought for a minute.

"Okay. I'll drop the stuff here, but I think you're making a big mistake."

"Whatever. I don't remember asking for your opinion."

Pyro walked out of the store. Bobby was left with the feeling that the next time they saw each other, the meeting would not be quite so cordial.

A few minutes later, Scott drove by to pick up Bobby.

"You ready?" Scott asked

"Yeah" Bobby said absent-mindedly as he got in the car. "You?"

"Got my haircut, as usual, and got some other stuff done."

Scott used Bobby's monthly trips to the comics store to get a haircut, every month at about the same time, at the same barber, like clockwork. 

During the ride home, Bobby re-lived all the time he had spent as Pyro's friend, thinking if maybe there was something he could have done differently that would have made Pyro stay with the X-men. But something Pyro had said stuck in his mind.

  "_I'm gone now for good, so just accept that. Can't live in the past, gotta live in the present."_

"Perhaps there was nothing I could have done." Thought Bobby. But the words did not go away. Instead, he started thinking of Steve. Although on the outside he appeared fine, deep inside he still felt guilt about Steve's death. But now, thinking of Pyro's words, he realized that maybe there was nothing he could have done differently either to prevent Steve's demise. He had made the best judgment possible at the time. It was extremely unfortunate, of course, and he would miss his friend for a long time, but it was now in the past. He needed to find a way to move on, to live in the present.

"Of all people, who would have thought that Pyro's words would help me put the whole San Francisco thing to rest?" Bobby thought

Soon they were back at the mansion. Bobby thanked Scott and grabbed his comic. When he walked inside the mansion, he saw Teresa Arroyo sitting on one of the couches. After San Francisco, Bobby had asked Teresa if she wanted to join Xavier's and she had agreed. However, Bobby had pretty much avoided her most of the time. Not because he did not like her, but because every time he looked at her, it reminded him of Steve. Now, Bobby inhaled, and walked over to Teresa.

"Hi Teresa." She looked up, kind of surprised.

"Hey stranger. Got tired of running the other way every time you see me?"

Bobby sat next to Teresa.

"I'm sorry, Teresa. I've been an ass. It's just that…"

"I know. Seeing me reminds you of San Francisco, right?"  
"Yeah. But I think I'm ready now to carry on."

"That's good."

"How have you been? How do you like the school?"

"Oh, it's excellent! Everybody's been so nice…" she said, then looked at Bobby "well, almost everybody."

"I'm so sorry…"

Teresa smiled "I'm kidding! I knew you needed some time to heal. It's ok. But I do really want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to be in a place where I feel like I really belong."

"You're welcome."

"Teresa, I do have to ask, back in the hospital, when I talked to Steve, was that you making it up or…?"

"No, I can't create dreams, I can get in them, but that's it. And back there, I was just the link. I felt both consciousness, and somehow through me, the two were able to share a moment. I'm not sure I can explain how that happened either. I guess there are other forces out there, supernatural ones, which made it possible. I dunno."

"Well, whatever you did, I want to thank you for giving us a chance to say farewell."

"You're welcome, Bobby."

Just then, Scott walked in, looked at them, nodded slightly, and walked away.

"Ok, why does he hate me?"

"Huh?" Bobby asked

"He avoids me even more than you were avoiding me."

"Oh. Well, I think that you remind him of someone. His old girlfriend. Your powers are kind of similar to some of hers. You know, telepathy."

"They had a bad breakup?"

"No…she passed away in battle a while ago."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."

Teresa was silent. 

"You ok? I can see that something's on your mind."

"Well, I don't want to seem selfish or something, but I have to ask, what is it about me that gets people thinking about dead friends and girlfriends? Do I have a neon sign on my head that says "I'm Death" or something?"

Bobby looked at Teresa. She was short and skinny, with black hair that fell to her white shoulders.

"Not that I can see."

"Oh, thanks!"

"No, seriously, maybe we just have to get Scott to think of something else when he sees you."

"And how are we going to accomplish that?"

Bobby thought for a minute.

"You like to give haircuts, right?"  
"Well, I don't k now that I like to. But in my house, I used to do my Dad and my brother's haircuts. Here I just do some of the kids to get some extra money, you know. It's not something I plan to do for a living."

"What do you want to do for a living?"

"I think I want to be a lawyer. I want to fight for mutant rights. And when I have money, I want to start a mutant safe house, a real one, back in San Francisco."

"Cool."

"Why were you asking about haircuts?"

"Well, I have an idea."

---------------   

A month later, Bobby and Scott were heading out in the car. As usual, Scott dropped Bobby off at the comic store. Inside, Bobby checked with Mike and confirmed that Pyro had come by and collected the stuff that Bobby had left for him. Bobby asked if Pyro had said or left anything for Bobby, but Mike said no.

After he had picked up the latest issue, Bobby walked out. A few minutes later, Scott's car came into view. 

"Back so fast? What happened?"  
"It's weird" said Scott "The barber shop is closed. There's a note that it'll be closed for at least two weeks."

"Huh. Hey! You know what we can do? There's this girl at school that cuts the hair of some of the boys. She's pretty good. She could give you a haircut."

"I don't know. I think I'll wait until my barber comes back."

"What if he's out for longer? Besides, you have my word, she is pretty good. I was actually going to ask her to cut my hair today."

Scott looked at Bobby's hair. 

"Ok, I guess." Scott finally said.

The two drove back to the mansion and headed upstairs. Bobby knocked on a door and Teresa opened it. Scott hesitated for a second; he did not know that it was Teresa who was going to cut his hair.

"Teresa, can you cut my hair today? And Scott's hair too? His barber's out of town."

"Sure! Why don't we go to your room, Bobby? You know you boys aren't allowed in the girl's rooms."

They walked to Bobby's room and Bobby sat down in a chair. Scott sat on the bed while Teresa proceeded to cut Bobby's hair. After several minutes, she was done. 

"How does it look?" Bobby asked Scott

"Looks fine."

"I told you she was good."

"Are you ready, Mr. Summers?" Teresa asked

"Ok." He said hesitantly, as he sat in the chair for his turn. "You don't have a mirror in your room, Bobby?"

"No, sorry."

"How do you want it, Mr. Summers?"

"Just trim it back a little, that's all. Nothing fancy."

"Okay."

Several minutes later, Teresa was done.

"How does it look?"

Teresa and Bobby looked at Scott.

"Good." They said together

"You sure you don't have a mirror here?"

"Sorry. There's one in the bathroom down the hall."

"Alright." Scott stood up. "I need to get some work done. Thank you, Miss Arroyo. How much do I owe you?"  
"First one's on the house." She said smiling

"Thanks."

Scott stood up and walked out on the hallway, with Bobby and Teresa peeking their heads out the door, giggling silently. Scott was heading down the stairs when Logan looked up from the foyer.

"Nice haircut, bishop." 

Scott ignored him, thinking it was just Logan being Logan. He wondered what he meant, but decided it was not worth it to find out. But he could hear his laughter as he walked away. 

Some of the kids looked up as he walked by, trying hard not to stare, and burying their heads in their books.

"What is wrong with everyone today?" thought Scott. 

As he was getting ready to head to the garage, Ororo saw him.

"Scott! What did you do to your hair?"

"What? What's wrong?" he asked, touching his head and suddenly feeling bare skin where there should be none.

"It looks like a monk or a friar's haircut! You have no hair on the back and sides, just an island of hair on top!"

"Bobby…" he growled under his breath. Ororo tried to calm him.

"Uhh…it's ok, It'll grow back soon. I doesn't look that bad…"

"Bobby!!!!" 

NEXT: Back to Summer. Serious drama, action and romance.


	10. To the Dark Continent

Chapter Ten: To the Dark Continent 

PG-13. Drama/Romance. 

Disclaimer: All X-men characters property of Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. No money is being made from this story.

Movie vs. comics: I have added several of the comics X-men to the movieverse for this chapter.

Frank Johnson considered himself a lucky man. He had survived the catastrophe at Alkalai Lake, narrowly escaping before the water rushed in. Not only that, he had enough presence of mind to grab a CD copy of the mutant database before heading out. He knew that, if he survived, something like that would be worth serious money. And now, he was expecting to get paid.

He was waiting in an abandoned pier. A car approached, stopped next to him, and a tall, slender man walked out.

"Mr. Bender, glad you could make it." Frank said.

Mark Bender was a rich man; some of his money was stained with illicit businesses. He was also one of the heads of a new organization, the Friends of Humanity. It was a fancy name for a group of rich people bent on killing every mutant alive. Bender's motivation was simple, he had spent a lot of time gathering his money, he was not about to then just watch as some deformed humans with bad genes took over the world and changed all the rules.

"You have what I want?" Bender asked

"Yes. Right here. You have the money?"

"Of course." Bender took out a briefcase from the car, and handed it over to Frank. "I assume you want to count it."

"You bet." Frank put the briefcase in the hood of his car and opened it. He was too busy counting to notice that Mr. Bender's eyes turned yellow, and his clothes slowly disappeared, replaced by blue, scaly skin. "Its not that I think you would not bring all the money, but my Mother always said never to trust anybody."

"Exactly." Mystique said, as she hit Frank's neck, and he fellto the ground. When he looked up, he almost had a heart attack. 

"Arggh! What the hell are you?"

"She's a beauty, that's what she is." Frank heard a voice say, an older man, with a slight English accent. Magneto stepped in front of Frank and stood by Mystique. "Now, we have a few questions we want to ask you."

"Go to hell, I ain't telling you shit."

Magneto looked amused. 

"Military dog tags." Magneto said looking at Frank's neck. "I've seen far too many of those recently." 

Just then, Frank's dog tag chain wrapped tightly around his neck, choking him, and drawing blood.

"Now, let's try this again, shall we?" Magneto said

After a few minutes, Magneto and Mystique had all the information they needed. 

"Are…you… going… to …" Frank was struggling to talk, as the chain still pressed against his skin. 

"…kill you? My dear boy, your brain itself is a database that requires deletion."

Magneto said, as the chain wound itself tighter. Frank struggled for air, until there was none, and he lost consciousness, never to regain it again. Magneto looked down at the still body and scoffed.

"Military men and their dog tags." He said, as Mystique and him walked away with the CD and the money.

----------

It was summer again. The months brought some changes, new faces and challenges for the X-men. But some things did not change. One of those things was Bobby's monthly trip to the comic book store. 

Bobby walked into the store to get the latest issue. As soon as he entered, the store owner called him.

"Bobby! I've got something for you. That guy, John, left it here."

"John?" Bobby walked towards the counter and grabbed the package from Mike.

"What can this be?" he thought, as he carefully handled the package in his hands. "What if it's a bomb or something? No, Pyro wouldn't do something like that, would he? I'll wait till Scott gets back, he'll know what to do."

Several hours later, all the X-men were sitting down in the situation room. Then, the door opened and Xavier entered, moving towards the center of the room.

"The package that Iceman received is from Magneto, and it was meant for me. It indicates that some of the surviving soldiers from Alkalai Lake managed to steal Stryker's mutant database before the base was destroyed. Apparently, only one of them remains at large, a Mr. Josh Cummings. It appears that Magneto had been trying to discover the whereabouts of this soldier for some time. He apparently has found a clue. Supposedly, this man will meet with a buyer in Africa in a few days to sell him the database."

"This all sounds made up, professor. You can't possibly believe that Magneto would tell the truth." Beast said

"I've known Eric for some time, Hank. I believe that on this occasion he is telling the truth. Magneto wants to prevent the database from getting into enemy hands as much as we do. Besides, I have used Cerebro and confirmed the location of Mr. Cummings somewhere in the jungles of Ungali."

"Why tell us, though?" Angel asked

"Magneto indicated that he does not have the resources to track the man down all the way to Africa. He has requested that we intercept him and destroy the database, for the good of all mutant kind."

"This doesn't make any sense." Storm muttered

"No, I think it does. Magneto knows that by sending some of our own on a trip like this, we will have less people to confront his brotherhood if they were to attack." Cyclops said

"Well, obviously we 're not sending anybody to Africa, not when Magneto is probably planning something soon." Wolverine suggested "I mean, is this database important enough to risk being short-handed against the Brotherhood?"  
  


"The database has information on a lot of mutants, Wolverine, not just X-men or Brotherhood members. Innocent lives that could be in danger. The buyer is a man called Kori, the leader of a radical rebel group in the republic of Ungali. He's a ruthless man notorious for abducting people and forcing them to fight against the government. My guess is that by knowing where mutants are, he plans to abduct some of them and force them to fight in his war. An army of mutants."

"There's no way that would happen. How is he going to force them?" Iceman asked

"He has his ways." Storm replied "I've heard of this man. In some cases, he abducts a whole family, and threatens to kill the women if the men do not fight for him."

"Ok, we do not know if Magneto's information is real or not, but if it is real, the risk of inaction is too much." Cyclops said, "We have to send a small party to check this out. Storm, you have experience working in Africa, I believe you should head the party."

"Agreed" she said

"Who else should go?" Colossus asked

Iceman looked around at the group. "Well, this is a stealth mission, so obviously it has to be X-men that look human. That eliminates Beast, Nightcrawler and Angel. Then, with Magneto's threat looming, the Professor will probably want the big guns to stay behind. That means Wolverine, Cyclops and Colossus are out. Wow, that only leaves me, Rogue, Kitty and Gambit. Well, I don't want to go to Africa. It's probably hot as hell over there right now." His thoughts wereinterrupted by Rogue's voice.

"Iceman and I can go." She said

Xavier turns to look at Iceman.

"Yeah, that's ok." He manages to say.

"Then it's settled. You three better get ready to leave soon." Cyclops said and disbanded the meeting.

"I thought it'd be something interesting to visit Africa. I hope you don't mind that I volunteered us, hon." Rogue whispered to Iceman's ear.

"No, not at all. I wouldn't want to miss the chance to be in 100 degree heat, swarmed by dinosaur-sized mosquitoes, and chased by lions and hyenas." He said, as she gave him a smile and a quick kiss.

------------  

 The three X-men arrived at the airport and were greeted by a tall black man with a wide smile.

"Hello, Ororo! It's been too long! You look great!"

"Thanks, Zareb. These are my friends, Robert and Marie." 

The two shook the tall man's hand. His grip was strong that it almost made them squirm. 

"Zareb and I have been friends for a long time. He will help us track down Cummings."

"Welcome to Ungali!" he said

-------

Zareb took them to a hotel in the center of the capital. Bobby and Rogue were surprised to see that the capital was very much a modern city, with all that you would expect in a Western city. The hotel itself was beautiful. Rogue and Bobby lamented that they were only staying one night there and heading out early the next morning. Ororo had let them stay in one room, as long as, as she put it, there was "no funny business". 

"So, what do you want to do?" Rogue asked her boyfriend

"Hmm, I'm 18, in a hotel room alone with my girlfriend…gee, I don't know."

"Let me guess, you want to watch TV all night."

"That's not exactly what I was thinking…" said Bobby, moving closer to Rogue and placing his hand in her covered arm.

"Well, you know we can't do any of…that."

"That? What?"

"I love it when you play innocent." She said, caressing his face with her gloved hand. Their eyes met as their faces got closer to each other.

"I love you, Rogue"

"And I love you, Bobby."

Slowly, their mouths moved closer, until they were only a few inches.

"Bobby, I'll hurt you…"

"Shh…" he said, and placed his lips on hers. For a second they kissed with the passion of those who cannot afford wasting any time. Then, Bobby started feeling it, his life being sucked away, but he held on, surrendering himself to her, until the mixture of pain and pleasure was too much, and he let go. He fell on the bed.

"Bobby! Are you okay?"

He smiled at her. She threw a pillow in his face.

"You held on for too long! You know you can't do that!"

"…but it was worth it…" he said, weakly

"You do that again and it's no more kissing, ever."

"No, please. I'm sorry. I just need you so much, Rogue. I love you more than I've ever loved anybody in my life." He said, slowly sitting up again.

"That's so sweet." She said, running her hands through his hair. "I'm sorry that we can't kiss and touch like any other normal teenage couple."

"Don't be sorry, I don't want anybody else but you."

"Me too….So, watch TV all night?"

Bobby threw himself back on the bed. "Ohh, isn't there something else we can do?"

"Well, we could, play, you know, with our clothes on. I brought my special sleep wear, the one you love so much." 

"Hmm, I like the sound of that!" Bobby said, thinking of the almost see-through clothes.

 They hugged, careful that Rogue's exposed skin did not touch Bobby. Their hands explored each other inch by inch. Suddenly, she stood up, leaving Bobby looking surprised.

"On second thought" she said, "I may have to keep my clothes on, but that doesn't mean you have to…"

Bobby smiled, as he took off his shirt.

-------------

The next morning, they headed out early. They traveled in their four-wheel drive vehicle to the Northwest of the country, marveling at the scenery around them.

"This is beautiful!" said Rogue

"Perhaps later on I can take you to one of the National Parks. The landscapes and the animals there are just breathtaking." Zareb said

"I don't believe we will have time. This is strictly a business trip." Ororo responded

-----

_The car was dark. Zareb was driving. To my left, Rogue slept, her head leaning on the window. In the passenger seat, Storm had closed her eyes, and was lost in dreams. I looked out the window to see only darkness. I was not sure what time it was, probably late at night, but with time changes an all, my body was not sure. Finally, I decided to turn on a reading light and take out the book that Hank gave me. It was a book on the country of Ungali. I started reading, thinking maybe this would do the trick and put me to sleep. History had never been one of my favorite topics. It was Steve's favorite topic. The book started with the early developments of African civilizations. I thumbed through to glance at a few pictures and sentences here and there. Ungali used to be a British colony, I learned. I moved forward. Its history after independence had been stained with wars. The economy is mostly based on agriculture. Moving forward. I got to the chapter on current history. And then I froze. I read about Kori, the atrocities done by the rebels, I saw the pictures. My throat felt heavy, and my breath short. I didn't know. I didn't know things like this still went on today. Why? I asked to myself. I closed the book with a mixture of anger and profound sadness. The rest of the trip was dark and quiet._

NEXT: Summer continues with "Hard Truths" and "Anger Management". Things get very serious, very fast, as the three X-men face a different kind of battle. 


	11. Hard Truths

Chapter 11: Hard Truths

PG-13. Drama. 

Disclaimer: All X-men characters property of Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. No money is being made from this story.

------

After the long drive, they finally made it to the town of Mbosi, where the Professor had indicated that Cummings might be. 

They looked around to see an enclave of concrete buildings. There were a few warehouses, a church, and some other buildings. A white woman walked out from one of the warehouses to meet them. 

"Hi, I'm Julie. I work with Unicef. Are you Americans?"

"Yes." Rogue answered

"Me too. It's not often that I see Americans here. Are you with an NGO?"

"NGO?" asked Bobby

"Non-governmental organization." Answered Julie 

"No, we are here on private business" answered Ororo

"Oh. Ok, well, welcome to Mbosi." Julie looked at Bobby and Rogue. "Not like the capital, is it?"  
"No, but I'm not sure what I expected." Answered Rogue 

"Follow me, please." Said Zareb, and led them towards a two-story building.

For the next few hours, they talked to several people in the town, asking about Cummings. It turned out that most of the children knew some English, which they had learned at the town school. The group showed a photo of Cummings, and some of the children responded that they had seen the man a few days ago. However, they were not sure where he had gone. He had apparently headed to the northwest, deep into the jungle. There were only two smaller villages in that direction. Ororo asked if any of those two villages were strongholds of the rebels. The children indicated that indeed the rebels routinely visited those villages to rob the people there, but then headed back even deeper inside, close to the border. In fact, they indicated, most of the people from those smaller villages had abandoned them and headed to the relative safety of Mbosi. 

Just then, a teenage boy walked over to them.

"I heard you were asking about the two villages northwest of here."

"Yes we were."

"I'm from one of the villages. I came to town looking for some food. My name is Lutalo."

"Hi, I'm Ororo. This is Bobby, Rogue and Zareb."

Lutalo told them all about the two villages. After a while, Storm decided that they had no choice but to split up. Storm and Zareb headed for the farthest village, while Lutalo agreed to take Iceman and Rogue to his village.  Storm and Zareb took the jeep while the kids walked.

"How far is it to your village, Lutalo?"  
"At normal pace, it's about an hour."

"What do you mean at normal pace?"

Lutalo smiled. "Well, my pace is faster than anybody I know." 

"How fast?"  
"I can make it to the village in less than three minutes."

"Really?"

Bobby and Rogue looked at each other, sure that Lutalo's ability was in reality a mutant expression. "Yes, that's why they send me to town every day to get food. I can be back very quickly. The old villagers say that I was blessed with the spirit of the cheetah. Look at this."

Lutalo lifted the back of his shirt. His back was filled with black spots.

"Wow. I think you are a mutant."

"A what?"

"Mutants are humans that have genetically evolved to something else. Some mutants have strange abilities that manifest themselves when they are teenagers."

"I don't understand."

Bobby smiled, and placed his hands together in a ball. A few seconds later, he opened his hands and showed Lutalo the crystalline ice ball that was inside. Lutalo jumped back.

"How did you do that?"

"That's my mutant ability. I make ice."

Lutalo looked at Rogue.

"Are you a mutant too?"  
"Yes." Rogue answered, without saying what her ability was.

During the walk to the village, they learned that Lutalo's running ability manifested itself around his 15th birthday. That day, the rebels came and abducted Lutalo's family. He had been at the fields, but he heard the shots. He ran back to his house to see the vehicle heading off with his family inside. Lutalo shouted and started running behind the vehicle. Without realizing it, he started to catch up with the speeding vehicle. He was next to it, but when the rebel soldiers saw him, they panicked. The driver lost control of the vehicle, which careened out of control, turning around until it crashed against some trees. Lutalo could only watch as the vehicle exploded in flames. He had been alone ever since, surviving by running errands at high speed for the people of the surrounding areas.

They made it to Lutalo's village and were greeted by a small group of families. The adults offered them some food, even though it was apparent to Bobby and Rogue that they hardly had enough for themselves. After the meal, Bobby and Rogue used Lutalo as an interpreter, and showed them the photo of Cummings. Nobody had seen the man. They even asked the kids of the village and they also said no. 

Iceman used the satellite phone to call Storm.

"Storm, this is Iceman. We are at Lutalo's village. Nobody has seen Cummings here."

"Copy that. That means that he must be at the other village. We are arriving right now."

"What can we do to help?"

"Just stay where you are. If Cummings is here, Zareb and I will take him down and recover the database."

"Copy that."

Iceman turned off the phone and looked at Rogue.

"We travel all this way and miss all the action." said Rogue

"That's not necessarily a bad thing, you know." Iceman responded

"Maybe you're right. Oh well, let's go look around or something."

They walked around the small enclave while Lutalo introduced them. There were ten families living here. Half the villagers were kids in their teens or smaller. Lutalo showed them the fields; they spotted several wild animals, and finally made it to the village water well.

"This is where we used to get water. The well is dry now. And that, combined with the recent drought, has really become a problem for us."

A concrete slab with a manway and a rusted water spigot stood in front of them.

"Can we open the manway?" Lutalo and Iceman removed the metal object. Iceman looked down the dark well and had an idea.

"I don't know if this is going to work, but…"

He stretched his arms down towards the well, and started combining the water molecules in the air. Ice started forming in his hands, and he started shooting the ice down the well. He was trying to make the ice just slightly below freezing, so that when it hit the bottom of the well, it would easily turn into water. Iceman's eyes showed some strain.

"This heat…there must be very little moisture in the air…it's harder to make ice…" he said, as he continued shooting ice down the well.

Lutalo looked in awe at Iceman, while Rogue's look was that of slight concerned.

"How long are you going to keep this up?" she asked

"Maybe I can fill the aquifer below…" he responded.  After several minutes, he started feeling light-headed. "Almost there" he thought, and kept on icing on. The feeling did not go away, however, and suddenly he went blank and collapsed backwards on the ground.

A few seconds later, Iceman opened his eyes to see Rogue and Lutalo crouching by him.

"Bobby! Are you okay?" Rogue said, while she touched Bobby's face with her gloved hands. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. I must have fainted or something."

"Don't you ever do that again, Bobby Drake! You gave me the scare offa lifetime. You have to stop when you feel like you're getting to your limit."

"I don't think I was at my limit, I think the heat and the strain of making ice from this dry air got to me. I'm fine now, and I'm sorry I scared you."

"You better be!" she said playfully

"Did it work?" he asked. Lutalo stood up, and opened the spigot. Crystalline water started to come out.

"It did!" he announced with a smile.

------

_As the afternoon started giving way to night, we saw children gathering up in the center of the village._

_"What's going on?" _

_"We're getting ready to head to town. Are you going to join us?" Lutalo said_

_"What do you mean, heading to town? I don't understand." I inquired_

_"Every night the children walk towards town to sleep. The adults stay in the village to protect their property. People call us the night commuters."_

_"Why do the children walk all the way to town every night just to sleep?" Rogue asked   
"Because of the rebels. They mostly come at night to abduct children. Some of these children were abducted in the past but managed to escape. In town, we feel more secure."_

_We saw as the parents patted their children and instructed them on where not to sleep._

_"The rebels abduct children?" an appalled Rogue said _

_"Yes. Abducted adults are also taken, but recently more and more of the abducted are children. I think they can scare children into obedience more easily. The boys are used to handle loads, carry arms and munitions, and a few are forced to fight. The girls also carry loads, do chores, and a few are forced by military men to serve their sexual needs."_

_Rogue and I could not believe our ears. The book did not say anything about children being the target of abductions. _

_"How old are the children they abduct?" _

_"Teenagers mostly, but even children younger than that are taken. We are heading out. Are you coming?" _

_During the walk to town, Rogue and I heard the stories of some of the children. They swarmed toward us, eager to tell us all about their experiences, maybe hoping that we would be able to help somehow, or maybe just glad that somebody was listening._

_A young boy who had escaped the rebels told us that he and his four brothers were captured and taken deep into the jungle. The rebels told them that the two youngest were not old enough to be of help. Then, they tied the two younger brothers, and beat them repeatedly, telling the other three that they would also be beaten if they did not cooperate. The rebels left the pair alone in the jungle and moved on. The boy did not know if his two younger brothers survived or not. The youngest child was nine years old.  _

_A girl explained how she was treated during the time that the rebels held her. She was forced to carry heavy loads, wash clothes and cook meals. If she did not do it well, she was beaten.  _

_An older teenage boy told us how he was forced to train with guns, and fight alongside the rebels against the government. He also told us about one time when a boy his age tried to escape from the rebels. The rebels captured him, laid him on the ground, and forced some of the other children to step on him until the boy was trampled to death. _

_By the time we arrived to town, we were trying hard to contain our tears and rage. All that I kept thinking was how can things like this happen in our present world. I wanted to cry and scream with anger at the same time. What kind of monsters would do things like that to innocent children? And why the hell did they get away with it? _

_We arrived at a warehouse, where hundreds of children had gathered, lying down close to each other for the night. There we saw Julie helping arrange the children. _

_"So, what are you two doing here?" she asked_

_ "We were in Lutalo's village when the night commuters started to head out."_

_"It's horrible, what these children have to do just to stay safe at night." She said. Rogue started to cry softly, and I held her tight in my arms._

_"How can the government let this happen?" I asked _

_"They do not have enough resources to stop it. We are too far remote, and they have their hands busy already with the drought and other problems. Besides, their way of dealing with the rebels is with guns, and sometimes the abducted children are hit in the crossfire."_

_"What about other countries, or the UN?"  
"Some of them do what they can, but the reality is that not many people in the world even know that this goes on. Not many folks are interested on the happenings in a remote jungle corner of Africa, I'm afraid."_

_"Does somebody know where the abducted children are kept?"_

"No, the rebels move from place to place, so it's very difficult to find them. Luckily, some children do manage to escape. If they have no family to go back to, we accommodate them here. But without more resources, there's not much more that we, or anybody else, can do." She said

_I never felt so useless in my whole life._

_-------_

Josh Cummings sat on his SUV, satellite phone in hand. He wrote down the coordinates for tomorrow's exchange, and hung up. He smiled, knowing that tomorrow he would be rich. He then reached for the guns, making sure they were all ready. You don't go unarmed to make deals with rebels, he thought to himself. 

Just then, he felt someone knocking on his tinted window. He hid the guns and lowered the window slightly. When he saw her face, he was speechless for a second. Standing there was a beautiful black woman, her face as perfect as a goddess, and her hair long and incredibly white. 

"Excuse me, sir, we're tourists, our car broke down and we were wondering if you could help us."

Josh looked back and saw a vehicle a few yards from them.

"Are you alone?"

"My boyfriend went to the village to get help, but then I noticed you here. We had not seen your car initially because all your lights are out."

Josh hesitated, then nodded and walked out of his car. 

He stood in front of Storm, admiring her, his eyes traveling up and down her body. But he sensed something was wrong. He heard an almost imperceptible snap of a twig somewhere in the darkness. 

"Let me get my tools." He said, turning back to his car, and removing his gun. 

"Storm, look out, he's getting his gun!" a voice said.

Josh quickly aimed at the black beauty, but she was no longer standing there. He got in the car, started it, and accelerated. However, a strange wind was now in the area, He heard thunder rumbling, and rain starting to fall. 

Storm stood with her hands stretched out, hey eyes white and her hair standing up with static electricity. She looked at the speeding car and directed a bolt straight at it. The car immediately stopped. Josh took his gun, and ran out into the darkness. He did not know what was going on, and his sharp military senses slipped a little in his panic. Otherwise, he would have seen it coming. From behind a tree, Zareb stepped in front of Josh, kicking him in the stomach. Quickly, Zareb took away the gun in Josh's hand. 

"The nice lady over here wants to talk to you." Zareb told Josh, who was cursing himself for his sloppiness and stupidity. He had heard that all the other surviving soldiers from Alkalai Lake had been killed, and now he wondered if it was his turn.    


	12. Anger Management

Chapter Twelve: Anger Management 

PG-13. Action/Drama.. 

Disclaimer: All X-men characters property of Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. No money is being made from this story.

A few minutes later, rain started falling on the warehouse roof where Bobby, Rogue and Julie stood. Julie looked outside with surprise.

"Well, that's unexpected, but much welcomed. We have not had rain in some time. From the looks of it, it appears like a storm is coming."

The X-men looked at each other at the comment. They had a feeling that this had indeed something to do with Storm, and they hoped that she was all right. Bobby thought about calling her, but did not want to compromise her situation with a ringing phone, in case she was hiding or something. Earlier, Ororo and him had agreed on communications silence for the rest of the night. Besides, Storm was not one to need help often anyway, she could take care of herself just fine. 

"Excuse me, I have to take care of some things." Julie said as she headed back to the children. Lutalo came over to where Bobby and Rogue were. 

"Are you ready to get some sleep?"

"I don't know if we can, Lutalo. Not after all we have seen and heard." Rogue said

"I understand. Most nights I'm lucky if I get a couple of hours of good solid sleep. Why don't you sit down over here, my friends, and we can be sleepless together?" 

---

Morning came slowly the next day. The children woke up, Julie distributed some food, and soon the children were heading back to their villages.  Lutalo let Bobby and Rogue sleep a little more. They had finally surrendered to sleep a few hours earlier. The three had spent most of the night talking. As the sun's rays peered into the warehouse, the two X-men woke up.

"Good morning, friends."

"Good morning." said Rogue

Bobby looked around and saw the empty warehouse. In a jolt, he jumped up and stood tall. "Where are the children?"

"It's fine, Bobby. The children have already left for their villages."

"You didn't go with them?" asked Rogue

"No, I couldn't just leave you. I told Ororo I would be your guide."

"Ororo! I hope she's okay." Bobby found his phone and called Storm. After a couple of minutes talking to her, he turned to Rogue.

"Storm says that she and Zareb caught Cummings last night. The storm we saw was indeed her. She said that the struggle was nothing, but she kept the rain coming because of the drought."

"So they're ok?"

"Yes. She asked us to stay here in town. She's coming later today to pick us up."

"You're leaving today?" Lutalo asked

"It appears so."

"Well, I really enjoyed your company, and I hope everything works out for you two."

"Thank you."

"I'll go and get us some breakfast, ok?"

"Thanks."

Lutalo sped away in a flash.

Rogue looked at Iceman. His eyes were pensive and sad.

"You feel bad leaving, don't you?" Iceman nodded. "Me too. I can't just get up and leave after hearing all that I heard last night. What should we do?"

"We wait until Storm gets here, then we'll talk with her, and plan a course of action." Iceman sat down next to Rogue and placed his arm around her back.

----

Several hours later, Ororo arrived with Zareb.

"Where's the soldier?" Rogue asked

"We gave him up to local authorities. Apparently he was involved in other illegal businesses in the country."

"Did you get the database?"

"Yes."

"So, are we ready to go?" asked Zareb

"Storm, can we talk for a second?"

Iceman and Rogue explained to Storm all that they had learned from the children. Storm listened intently, then finally spoke.

"Some of what you are telling me I already knew about. I feel deeply for those children, believe me. But the fact remains that our orders were strictly to retrieve the database. With Magneto's threat looming close, we cannot linger here, regardless of how good a reason we may have."

"We called Cyclops, and he says that there's no indication that Magneto will strike soon."

"Oh?"

"Yes, and we figured that the rebels must be close to where you found Cummings, since their meeting was supposed to be tonight, right?"

"Right. In fact, the papers I found in his bag indicated the exact location and time where he would meet the rebels."

"Excellent! The rebels do not know that you apprehended him, so we can sneak up, free the abducted, and stop the rebels."

"Iceman, what you are suggesting is much more complicated than that. We would be intervening in political affairs overseas. And may I add that what would be accomplished would be short-lived. The fact is that after rebel groups are disbanded, a new one pops up soon afterwards under new leaders. And the children that had escape or were rescued are sometimes abducted again."

"Well, we can't just sit and do nothing!" Bobby said angrily "What the hell are our powers good for if we can't help people?!"

Storm gave Iceman a stern look that quickly dissolved into empathy.

"I know how you feel Iceman. I have dealt with the same feelings before. But the fact is that we are not gods, and there are some things that have to be accomplished through means other than force or superpowers."

"But there must be something we can do…" said Rogue 

Storm thought for a minute. She looked at Iceman and Rogue, and then at Zareb.

"Zareb, how long until we can head back out?" 

"I have to check the car, get some provisions. Maybe an hour."

"That should give us enough time." She turned to the two young X-men "Very well, get your gear ready, we're going to need it."

Suddenly, a gust of wind came and Lutalo was standing by the group.

"I'm going too!"

"Huh?"

"I heard everything. I want to help, and I won't take no for an answer."

------

_We traveled quickly towards the location. Before I knew it, we were there. I got out of the car, and we all stood reviewing the plan. It was night now, and a jungle of trees surrounded us. There was still a little while to go before we got to the clearing, so we started walking. Lutalo went out to scout and was back in a few minutes. The rebels were right where they were supposed to be. They were armed with rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, and small arms. This was not going to be easy. Storm asked about the abducted, and he responded that they seemed to be held up in the back of the camp. So, there we were, me, Rogue, Storm, Zareb and Lutalo, heading to confront whatever was coming our way. Zareb had a gun in his hand "I have no powers, so I got to make do" he said as a way of explanation. The rest of the walk was dark and silent. Finally, we started to hear voices. We split up as previously determined, but not before I kissed Rogue in her hand and told her to be careful. Zareb and me headed to the back of the camp. We found a good spot and then waited. Soon, she appeared. Regardless of how many times I've seen her, I'm was still amazed at her power. She flew down on the clearing, with clouds and lightning around her. The rebels started running back, scared out of their minds. One of the leaders managed to control some of them, and ordered them to fire. Then a huge gust of wind pushed them back. Storm's eyes glowed as electricity zapped out of her fingers. I looked around and I saw our other team. Rogue was riding in Lutalo's back, while Lutalo sped in and out of the clearing. They were handling the stragglers while Storm handled the rest. They traveled too fast for me to make anything out, but I knew what was going on. Lutalo ran next to a soldier, Rogue's bare hands touched the soldier, and he fell unconscious. He'd be out for a few hours at least. The front guards were now shooting at Storm, but she had erected a pressure barrier, and the bullets ricocheted away. In the rearguard, half the rebels were now on the floor unconscious. The other ones, unable to see what was taking down their comrades, ran for cover in the jungle, only to find a close encounter with Rogue's hands. _

_I motioned to Zareb and we were off. It was time. We knew that some soldiers would stay behind with the abducted. It was our job to take them out and free the villagers. We heard voices coming from two different directions. To our left, we could see figures moving between the trees. To our right, a military tent stood several feet from us. Zareb looked at me and said, "Let's split up. You check out the voices coming from over there, and I'll head for that tent." I held his arm firmly: "No! If we do this, we do this together."_

_We decided to move towards the voices coming from the wooded area. When we got there, things were worse than we imagined. Two captors, now in panic mode, were threatening to shoot the children if they didn't head out to fight whatever was defeating their rebel comrades. I could see the look of fear in the children's eyes. One of the soldiers was threatening some young boys. Suddenly, he started beating them with the back of his rifle. The bastard. The children were trying to cover themselves, too scared to even scream. I signaled to Zareb and ran towards them. Before the soldiers could react, I froze their guns solid. I ran towards the rebel that had been hitting the children, while Zareb fought off the other one. "You like hitting children, you piece of shit?" I could feel the anger building inside of me. I iced my hands into two big ice fists. The soldier hesitated, surprised at the development. I used his hesitation to connect a fist to his face. He fell backwards. Quickly he reacted, taking out the machete in his belt. He stood up and shouted at me. "You're gonna pay for what you've done to the children!" I yelled, he ran towards me, his machete slicing the air between us. I shot a block of ice to his wrist, and the machete fell down from the shattered hand. He fell to the ground, holding his hand, I punched him and he fell back. I stood over him. His other hand was struggling to get something out from his leg. A gun. I crouched down and grabbed his hand in one ice fist, while my other hand wrapped itself around his neck and squeezed. "You sadistic bastard! How many children have you killed? Well, it ends now! You will not kill anybody again!" I saw his eyes pleading at me for mercy, and I thought about how many children had looked at him like that.   My brain was racing; this excuse for a human being was a murderer, just like Crusher. And like Crusher, he did not deserve to live. My head hurt, the rage making it hard to concentrate. But I heard myself say: "No, Crusher was an accident, but this…this is killing…and X-men don't kill." My fist let go of his neck. He gasped for air, able to breathe again. I moved his arms over his head and iced them to the ground. _

_Looking behind me, I saw Zareb fighting hand to hand with the other soldier. For a second I marveled at his skills, as he kicked the rebel to the ground with ease. Quickly, I froze the ropes holding the children together, and they broke off. "Stay together!" I told them. "Are there any more villagers?" They pointed towards the large tent further back. I told the children to hide in the trees and wait for us. Zareb and I headed towards the tent. Zareb was in front of me. Suddenly, I saw three soldiers come out behind him with guns in hand. I quickly raised my hands and captured them inside blocks of ice. Zareb turned around and said "Thanks". We checked the area for more soldiers but found none. Finally, we walked inside the tent. Inside, we saw more people, tied to posts and logs. "We're here to free you!" Zareb shouted. They looked up at us, trying to smile, but the weariness did not let them. Quickly we cut their bonds. I cut the bonds of one man that appeared to be sleeping. As the rope broke, his sitting body lunged forward, hitting the ground, and staying there motionless. I touched his chest, then his eyes, and I closed them with my fingers. I heard a voice "Let's go, Iceman!" I followed Zareb outside to meet the freed villagers. "God, there's so many" I thought, as I looked around at the grateful faces. We walked them over to the pre-determined point, where we found Storm, Rogue and Lutalo. While the children rested, we tied the rebels with the same ropes they had used with the abducted. Zareb pointed to one of the rebels, and said that it was Kori, their leader. I stared at him, but he just looked like any other man. I looked away. Storm phoned the local authorities and instructed them on how to get to where we were. We waited until they arrived and started taking the rebels away. We rounded up the children around us. "Come on, let's get you all to safety" I said as we headed out. A small child, about ten years old, took my hand and squeezed hard. He was crying, and hugged my legs until I could not walk anymore. I crouched and placed him on my back. As I carried him, I felt the wetness of his tears in my neck. "It's ok." I told him "Everything is going to be okay."_


	13. Full Cycle

Chapter Thirteen: Full Cycle

PG-13. Drama.

Disclaimer: All X-men characters property of Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. No money is being made from this story.

-----

The walk home was long, but feeling freedom again, most of the children's spirits were high. Some of them sang and danced as they went. Zareb was driving the car, with the few that were unable to walk sitting inside. Storm turned towards Iceman, Rogue and Lutalo.

"You all did good tonight." She said smiling

"Yeah, we make a good team!" Lutalo responded jubilantly

"Would you care to join?" Storm asked

"Join? What do you mean?"

"Back in the States, a man called Xavier runs a school for people like us. I think you would make an excellent student."

"I don't know…another country? I know that I have no family left here, but leaving would feel like I'm abandoning my people."

"Perhaps not. Perhaps your calling is to go abroad, get an education, then come back and help your fellow countrymen." Storm replied

"I don't know…I'll think about it." Lutalo said pensively

"That's all I can ask for, Lutalo" Storm replied.

Soon, a bus met them and drove them the rest of the way to town. The next morning, Julie stood dumbfounded as a busload of children stepped out running. She looked towards Bobby and Rogue looking for an explanation, but they just smiled back. 

Bobby and Rogue spent the next few hours with the children, while Ororo and Zareb set up everything for the trip back. In the afternoon, Storm signaled them to come. 

"Bobby, Rogue, something has come up. I phoned my relatives in Cairo, and I have to take care of some personal business there. I have already informed Scott. I will be back to Westchester a soon as I can."

"What? Is everything okay?" Rogue asked

"Don't worry. I'll be back at the mansion before you know it. Now, about my ticket back, it looks like somebody is going to be using it after all."

Just then, the young X-men turned to see Lutalo approaching.

"I decided to accept your offer. I'm going with you guys!" he said, as Bobby and Rogue patted him on the back.

"Welcome aboard, Lutalo!" Bobby said

-----   

_ Before we left, we stopped by to say goodbye to the children. Julie was there, as always. "What is going to happen to them?" I asked _

_"Most of them will go back to their villages with their family. A few have nowhere to go, so they'll stay here with us. Things should be much better now that the rebels have been apprehended, at least for a while. It's probably only a matter of time until another psychopath builds up another rebel movement, and starts abducting people again. When you are in it for as long as I have, you can see the cycle over and over again." _

_"Then let's pray to God that the cycle does not repeat itself this time." I replied _

_We said goodbye and got in the car, the first part of our long trip back to Westchester. It was nice to know that we would be home soon. When we finally got home, the Professor greeted Lutalo and showed him around. I had asked him if he wanted to room with me and he accepted, so we headed to my room and he took Pyro's old bed._

_ Things went back to normal, or as normal as they can be at Xavier's. Magneto had not made any moves yet, but we knew it was only a matter of time. In the meantime, I had been busy._

_I walk into my room. Lutalo is studying in the bed. _

_"This is hard, Bobby! I don't know if I can do this."_

_ I look at the book in his hand. Chemistry. _

_"Sure you can. I know of a great tutor that can help you. He helped me pass Chemistry too." _

_"Thanks." _

_"Here, I want you to see this." I hand the letter to Lutalo. _

_"What is it?" _

_"It's a letter I wrote, addressed to the UN chairman, and the US Secretary of State. It's a letter asking them to do everything possible to protect the children of Ungali, and other children in danger around the world, against the threats of war and abuse. I circulated it around the school and everybody signed it."_

_Lutalo looks at the letter, and all the signatures, and looks at me. _

_"Thank you. Bobby. You are a true friend." He tells me. "Can I sign it too?" _

_"Of course!" _

_He signs the letter and gives it back to me. _

_"You know, there's a story that my mother used to tell me." He says " The devil was walking in the desert one day, when he stumbled upon a small child. The child was placing containers on the ground. The devil asked her: "What are you doing, child?" She said: "My little brother is sick. Mommy says it's because the water is bad, so I'm putting these here to catch the rainwater." Confused, the devil looked up: "But the sky is clear, and it has not rained in months!" he said. The little child looked at him, surprised at the remark. "Yes, but you can always hope." She replied. The devil left the child there and went back underground." _

_"That's a great story, Lutalo." I see the books scattered all over his desk. "So, you want to study Chemistry tonight?"_

_"Actually, I'll leave that for later. There's an essay that is due tomorrow."_

_I nod and leave him to study. _

_Most students are in their rooms studying or sleeping. I stop by the kitchen and find Rogue eating some ice cream. _

_"Rogue?"_

_"Hey Bobby. I had a midnight craving for something cold, I can't imagine why."_

_"I can do cold." I say, as I serve some ice cream on a cup for myself. "You want to watch some TV?"_

_"Sure."_

_We head to the living room and sit down on the couch to watch TV. After Rogue is finished with her ice cream, she lays her head on my legs. My hands play with her hair, just the way she likes it._

_"Bobby?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"Do you still think about Africa?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"Sometimes I still have nightmares, and I hear those kids telling us what the rebels did to them."_

_"Well, the nightmare is over, baby. The children are free, and the rebels are in jail."_

_"But for how long?"_

_"Hopefully forever."_

_ "Yeah."_

_"I still think about when I was fighting that soldier. How I could feel the cold building up inside of me. How if I had squeezed any harder, I would have killed him."_

_"But you didn't. I know you, Bobby, and you would never do that."_

_"Yes, I know you're right. It's just scary, you know? Knowing what my powers could do if they were out of control."_

_"Tell me about it. All I have to do is touch someone for a few seconds and they're dead."_

_"I'm sorry, Rogue. I can't believe how selfish of me." I say apologetically_

_"No, baby. What bothers you bothers me. I want you to be happy."_

_"I'm happy with you, Rogue."_

_She sits up, our eyes meet, and our lips touch for just a fraction of a second. She carefully puts her head in my shoulder._

_"I love you, Bobby Drake."_

_"And I love you, Marie Rogue."_

_She laughs, that beautiful laugh that fills my heart with joy._

_After a while, she gets sleepy, so I walk her up to her room and tell her goodnight. I'm still not sleepy, so I go down to the kitchen again, grab some munchies, then head down to Hank's lab. I'm sure he's still awake. When I walk in, I hear a familiar song playing. Hank's back is towards me, as he sits enjoying the classical music. This time, I decide to shut up and sit down. _

_I let the music invade my mind, as I close my eyes and start thinking. I can't believe how much has happened in one year. I lost so much, but gained a lot too. The images pass through my head like a slideshow. My parents are looking out the window, as I look back and walk away. The Professor tells me all I need is inside of me. Steve is waving his arms like crazy, pointing at a puddle of water on the floor. Jack tells me that being a hero is about sacrifice. Steve and I build a fire together and say our goodbyes. Rogue and I embrace, and love fills my soul. Teresa smiles and tells me about her dream of starting a real mutant safe house. Rogue and I kiss, and I feel complete. A small child grabs on to my leg, and I tell him, everything's going to be okay. I have found out that there are so many bad things in this world, but there are also many good things. Life is about all of it, the laughs and the pain; it's about enjoying the good moments and dealing with the not so good ones. Life is about growth, and about change. I used to not know how to cope with it all. But now I know that only by having hope can we stand a chance; by hoping that when change does come, it will be for the better; by holding on to hope even in the darkest of times; and if someone close to us passes away, by hoping that there is a peaceful place where they will go and be complete. I have learned a lot in this year.  I have realized what things truly make life worth living: love and friendship. Somebody once told me that everything happens for a reason. I don't know why all that went on happened, but I know that whatever will happen from now on, I'll be better equipped to handle it. My personal hope is that I can be a force for good in this world, regardless of how small my contribution may seem. And I hope to make you proud, Steve.  I am confident, because I have one thing on my side that can never be defeated, the Professor's dream of a world of peace for mutants and humans alike. No, not the Professor's dream; OUR dream, the X-men's dream. _

_I feel a furry arm in my shoulder and I open my eyes. The music is ending, and I feel the wetness in my eyes. I look up and see Hank standing by me. _

_"Are you ok, Bobby?" _

_"Yes, better than I've been in a while." _

_"Good." He smiles. _

_"I brought some munchies." I point towards the table. _

_"So I see. Shall we?" _

_"After you." _

_I follow my friend as we sit by the table, opening up the Twinkies box. Yes, it's definitively good to be home. _

  

TO BE CONCLUDED IN: "Steve Revisited"

REVIEWS PLEASE!


	14. Steve Revisited

Chapter 14: Steve Revisited

Summary: Bobby visits Steve's family and remembers an event from their time in High school. 

PG-13. Drama/Action

Disclaimer: Iceman, and all other X-Men are property of Marvel Comics. I'm using him in this story without permission, and I am receiving no money for it.

It had been one year since Steve's demise. Steve's family was having a ceremony to remember him. Rogue had volunteered to accompany her boyfriend Bobby Drake. The ceremony was going to be a remembrance, family and friends telling stories about when he was alive. It was not supposed to start until later at night, but Bobby had decided to come in earlier. They arrived at Steve's house in New York. Bobby stopped the car and sighed.

"It'll be okay, Bobby." Rogue told him.

"I'm so nervous. I've never really, you know, sat down with his mother to discuss this in detail." He did not know how he could even look at Steve's mother. She had been through so much, losing her husband and her son within the span of a few years.

"Don't worry, Bobby. Just be honest. None of it was your fault."

"Hopefully she'll agree with you." 

They got out and walked to the house. The day was cold, and snow covered the ground around them. Steve's mother opened the door and welcomed them in, hanging their coats in the rack. Bobby introduced Rogue. Ms. Smith asked her if the house was too cold, because of her gloves. She answered that her metabolism was like that, that it was okay. Bobby asked her how she was doing, and she said things were getting better. She had a good job now. Her oldest daughter was going to college next fall, and already had been offered a full scholarship to a good school. The youngest was in high school, and had very good grades like her sister. She asked Bobby how he was, and he said things were good. He told her that he was now working at his old boarding school. 

They talked a little, mostly small talk, until Steve's mother asked Bobby about San Francisco. She knew some of what happened, but she wanted to know the whole story. Bobby nodded. Rogue, who was sitting next to him, held his hand while he told everything. When he started talking about the hospital, and the dream, his eyes filled up with tears. When he was finished, he had to stop talking, and Rogue placed her hand around his shoulder. 

"Come here, Bobby." Steve's mother said. They stood up and he walked over to her. She opened her arms, and Bobby embraced her, as both of them cried together in the middle of the room. 

After a while, she looked at Bobby. "I'm glad you told me the whole story. I'm so proud of Steve, what he did. And I'm proud of you, Bobby. I know you blamed yourself in the past for it, but it was not your fault. You know that, right?"

"Yes. Thank you, Mrs. Smith."

"I guess part of me is not surprised about the way Steve acted. He was always that kind of person." She said.

----

I was heading to my 10th grade English class, when I stopped by the boys' room. When I walked in, I heard somebody crying in one of the stalls. I walked closer.

"Are you okay?" I asked. A sad voice answered: "Yeah"

"Do you want to talk about it?' I asked, without knowing who he was. There was some hesitation, but then the door opened. It was a scrawny kid, maybe in ninth grade, with big glasses and a face full of pimples. I couldn't say that I had seen him before.

"I'm sorry, I'm so ashamed. Don't mind me." He said, and started walking out.

"Wait." I told him. I had been bullied when I was younger, so I knew what the victims looked like. "Has somebody been bothering you?"

He looked at the floor.

"You could say that."

"I'm sorry." I said. I could have given him the "stand up for yourself" speech, but I was sure he had heard it before. So I offered sympathy. "When I was younger, I had the same problem. Believe me, it won't be like this forever." I saw his expression change a little, and then he started walking towards the door.

"Thank you. I gotta go to my next class."

During lunch period, I saw that he was sitting by himself. I walked over, and he looked at me surprised. 

"Anybody sitting here?" I asked

"Never." He answered, almost in a whisper. I sat down. 

"What's your name?"

"I'm Max."

"I'm Bobby. Nice to meet you, Max." I said as I shook his hand.

Then, I saw Steve. We were not in the same classroom this year, but we still sat together during lunch, and spent almost all the time after school together, even on double dates with girls. He was walking towards our group of friends, when he noticed I was not there. He looked around, and then saw me sitting with the kid. He looked back to our usual table, then back at me. I couldn't blame him if he decided to sit with the rest of our friends. Instead, he turned and walked toward us. "That's why he's my best friend," I thought. 

"Mind if I join you?" he asked, and sat before we had time to say anything.

"How you doin', Bobby?"

He extended his closed fist to me, and I did the same, connecting with it.

"Good."

Steve then extended his open hand toward the kid.

"I'm Steve."

The kid shook his hand. 

"I'm Max."

We ate lunch, talking about normal teenager stuff. At one point, Steve looked at the kid.

"Let me guess. Bullies, right?"

He looked down, almost apologetically.

"Yeah."

"Man, sometimes I wonder about people…" Steve said

"How long has it been going on?" I asked

"Since I joined this school earlier this year. I walk home every day, and most of the time they follow me and harass me. They call me stuff, take my lunch money and shove me. It's embarrassing."

"Who is it?" Steve asked

The kid looked around, and then pointed towards a table.

"Them." He said. 

We looked and couldn't say we were surprised. It was Brad and his friends. They were seniors, and were notorious for getting in trouble. They were also pretty big. I swallowed involuntarily.

Just then, the lunch bell rang.

"Gotta go, guys. Thanks for sitting with me." Max said and stood up

After school, Steve and I met Max outside. 

"What are you guys doing?"

"We're walking with you today." I said

"Thanks, but you don't have to do that."

"We know." Steve said, and we just continued walking with him. He told us that his family had moved into the area recently. We told him the area was good, but there were a few bad apples like Brad, just like anywhere else. When we took one corner, we found Brad and his friend Tom standing there. They looked surprised, but quickly went back to their "I'm too cool" pose.

"Well, well. You got bodyguards now?" Brad questioned

"Maybe he does." Steve said

"I wouldn't get involved in stuff that does not concern you. You could regret it."

"We'll take our chances." I said. These two guys were bigger than us, but one thing I learned with Steve is that you have to stand your ground. I looked at Steve and could tell he was thinking the same thing. 

Brad scoffed, then walked the other way.

"Forget you losers." He said. Max sighed.

"Thank you." He said. We walked a little more and we were at his house. He looked at us.

"I don't suppose you wanna come in…?" he said, expecting a no.

"Sure" I said

"Yeah, ok." Steve confirmed

We spent part of the afternoon at Max' house, just hanging out. At one point, he looked up at us "You gotta be the coolest guys I've ever met in my life."

"Well, I don't know about that." I answered.

The next day, we met Max after school once again. Steve and I were not sure how long we would have to do it. We usually took the bus home, but we did not mind the extra walk that much. 

We got to the corner where Brad had been. Sure enough, there he was. But this time, he was not alone. Six other guys from his class stood by him. They circled us and backed us to an abandoned lot that was right there.

"What do you want?" Steve asked

"Shut up, loser. We want him." Brad said, pointing at Max. 

"What has he done to you?" I asked

"Nothing."  
"Then why pick on him?" I pressed

"Look at him! Who wouldn't pick on him? And besides, it's just fun. So just get the hell away and let us have fun."

"We're not going anywhere." Steve said

I was very nervous. These seven guys could probably beat the shit out of Steve and I. But Steve was not flinching, so I wasn't either. 

"Have it your way." 

Steve and I put our hands up. We did not get in fights much, but when we did, Steve could duke it out with anybody. His Dad had taught him some boxing when he was younger. I was not as good, but I could hold my own. Of course, when it's two against seven, it's a different matter.   

Steve and I stood waiting for the first punch to be thrown. We did not have to wait long. They came at us quickly. I ducked a punch, and landed an uppercut on someone's stomach. Someone hit my side from behind hard, damn it hurt. I kicked the guy behind me in his leg, hitting him below the knee on the bone. He dropped to the ground. Another guy came up and grabbed me from behind in a bear hug. I struggled to get free. The guy in front of me was getting ready to hit me in the face. I moved my head forward, then backwards in a fast motion. 

"Oh, bastard!" I heard the guy behind me say. I was certain he probably had blood in his nose. He let me go, just before the other guy threw his punch. I took a second to look over to Steve. He had one guy on the floor already, and was fighting with two more. Brad was off to the side shouting stuff at Max, and preventing him from going anywhere. I had to get back to my own fight, as the two guys stood in front of me. Each one moved to one of my sides. We traded jabs, until I felt hands behind me holding on. It was the guy that I had kicked. He saw what I did to his friend, so he just held me and lowered his head on my back, so I could not escape again. 

"We got you now, blondie!" one of them said, and punched me in the mouth. I could taste my own blood. I was hoping that Steve was doing better, but saw on the corner of my eye that they had him in pretty much the same position, and were hitting him too. Another blow to my stomach took all the air away from me. "This is bad", I thought, "Maybe they'll get tired soon." I wished I was more powerful, so I could get free and beat the crap out of all of them. Little did I know that a few months later, my ice ability would show up in a similar situation.

"STOP! STOP!" We all heard a voice. The other boys looked back and saw Max with an angry face. 

"Let them go! You want me? Come and get me! I don't care! Just let them go, they're not the one you want."

I was amazed at the current turn of events. Max's face was pure determination. He walked over to Brad, and stood two inches from him. Brad was much taller than Max, so it looked pretty disproportionate when they were facing each other. The other boys let Steve and me go. Brad pushed Max to the floor. He stood up, and stood two inches from him again. 

"You can shove me all you want, but I'm not scared of you anymore." He said. Brad looked at his friends and laughed. But they did not laugh back. I think there were feeling somewhat ashamed. 

"Come on, guys, what's the matter?" Brad asked them

"Come on, Brad, let's go." Tom told him, then, to preserve Brad's status he added "they're not worth it." 

Brad looked at Max and scoffed.

"You know what? You're right." He started to walk away in his cocky stride, but I could tell he was embarrassed. The other six boys followed him.

Max came over to us and looked at our faces.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, we still got all our teeth." Steve answered

"I'm sorry, you guys." Max said

"Sorry? You were great! You were the definition of brave." I replied

"Brave? I was scared shitless!" Max said

We all laughed and continued on our way. We knew that Brad would not bother Max anymore.

A few weeks later, Steve's Dad lost his job and he moved the family to New York. Steve and I kept in touch, but then my mutation manifested itself, and I ended up at Xavier's. Meanwhile, his family had problems of their own, as his father struggled with making ends meet. We slowly drifted apart, until that summer day in New York. 

------

The ceremony started on time. Family members had gathered, as well as friends. Some of them were from Steve's school in New York, where he spent 11th and 12th grade, so I did not know them. However, the stories told were all similar. Early on Steve's mother had said that this was not a ceremony of death, but of remembering life, that she expected everyone to remember the good things, and if they were funny, by God she expected us to laugh. Some of the stories did indeed made all of us laugh. Too bad I couldn't tell our "Superfriends prank" story. A lot of people talked, even Rogue, who said that in the short time she knew Steve, she could tell he was a special human being. When it was my turn, I went on for a while about all the things we did when we were growing up, probably using more of my time than allotted, but nobody seemed to mind. 

I found out later that Jack and Sadie had wanted to come, but could not. They did however call Steve's mother and talked with her for a while. After she was finished, she passed me the phone and I talked with them too. I told them I was fine, and they seemed genuinely happy for me.

People started heading out, when a boy walked over to me. He must have been about 17 years old, but I could not tell who it was.

"Bobby?" he said

"Yes…?"

"You don't recognize me?"

I looked at his face, and suddenly I knew who he was.

"Max! You look different."

"Yeah, I don't look like a dork anymore." He said smiling

"How have you been doing?" 

"Good. And you?"

"Good too."

I remembered that Rogue was next to me.

"This is my girlfriend, Rogue."

"Nice to meet you." He said, shaking her hand.

"Nice to meet you too."

"I was so sorry to hear about Steve. He was such a nice guy." Max said

"Yeah." I replied

"You have no idea how you guys influenced my life."

"Really?"

"Before I met you two, I was in a bad place. I had some really bad thoughts back then. I'm not sure what I would have been capable of doing."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's just say that there's stuff on the Internet that has no business being there."

"I understand."

"Anyway, I wanted to thank you again for what you and Steve did."

"You're welcome. I'm glad things worked out for you."

"They did. Well, I gotta run. Bye."

"Bye."

After most people left, a smaller group of us stayed to put Steve's old room in order. His mother had not been able to go inside of it before now, but with the support of family and friends she did. 

I saw some boxes in one corner, and saw that they were postmarked from San Francisco. Jack and Sadie must have sent them, I thought. I looked inside and started taking out his college stuff. There were several books, but one in particular caught my attention. It was a photo album. I called Rogue and we sat down for a minute to look at them. 

Rogue pointed out one of two children, a black kid with green eyes and a white kid with blue eyes, arms behind each other's neck.

"How old were you and Steve in this photo?"

"About ten, I think."

"Look at you! You looked so cute".

"And I'm not now?" I asked smiling

"You know you are." She said, holding my hand

As I continued to pass the pages, I made it to one part with newspaper articles. There was one on when his debate team won a state tournament. There were some on members of his family. 

"Look!" Rogue said pointing at a particular article. The headline read "Mysterious group of mutants foil attack on Senator." I remembered this article; it was when we, the X-men, saved a pro-mutant senator from an assassination plot. Some of the witnesses had described the "mysterious group" and in one place someone was mentioning some kid that shot ice from his hands. In the article, that sentence had been highlighted, and a handwritten comment next to it said: "The Man!". It was something he used to say to me. 

I said: "No, you're the man." Like I had said so many times in reply. Steve was definitively a great guy, and wherever he is right now is a better place for having him there.

 THE END

_OK, so I felt bad for what happened to Steve, but once I had started on the "Coming of Winter" story I knew where it had to end. This chapter is my way of thanking Steve for becoming a character that I would have liked to have as a friend._

_If you stuck with this series all the way, I thank you, and hope that it was worth your while. _

_REVIEWS PLEASE! We all spend a lot of time working on these fanfics, probably more than we should, and reviews are the only "payment" we get. Thanks._


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